


Operation Blood Moon

by Tibbsian



Category: NCIS
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-27
Updated: 2015-12-01
Packaged: 2018-04-23 15:01:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 35
Words: 102,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4881298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tibbsian/pseuds/Tibbsian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony DiNozzo, a malawere (a malamute shifter) has been infatuated with a 30 year-old Marine since he was sixteen. One night of unbridled passion between Tony and Gibbs will be the only one until two decades later, when this malamute shifter is reunited with the man who’s about to become the alpha-rex of NAFoS – the North American Federation of Shifters.</p><p>Leroy Jethro Gibbs has given his heart only once – to a young streetkid – only to find, after 4 years, the kid has taken off without an explanation. Never again will he let anyone else get under his skin, certainly not by another teenage punk. Certainly not by a nerdy, odd-looking rich kid like Tony.</p><p>Years later, Navy SEAL, Jonas Raven, and Diplomatic Service Security agent, Tony, meet and find comfort in each other’s arms, not knowing that, apart from being shifters, they have one other thing in common – they’re in love with the same man, a man they have not seen in twenty years. But Fate is sometimes kinder than they expect, and the three men are finally reunited when Jonas and Tony are assigned as Jethro’s protective detail in Operation Blood Moon.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. PROLOGUE & PART ONE: GIBBS & JONAS - CHAPTER 1

**Author's Note:**

> This work contains graphic sex between men; references to child-rape (no details); rimming, oral sex, down-and dirty sex between Tony, Gibbs and Jonas. If you do not like kink or rimming, stay away from this story.

**AUTHOR'S PERSONAL NOTE**

 

 

This story was meant to be finished and posted before September 27, 2015 because it is connected to the Blood Moon which occurs on this date. According to the [NYDailyNews](http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/supermoon-lunar-eclipse-harvest-moon-coincide-sunday-article-1.2375754), this rare supermoon total lunar eclipse will last more than an hour and be visible, weather permitting, starting at 10:11 p.m. EST. I started writing this story towards the end of 2014 but a serious illness in the family prevented me to finishing it. Things are more or less stable now and I hope to be able to get the time - and the motivation to complete it. I admit I'd been depressed over the crisis but am feeling better now and hope to resume writing again soon.

I was tempted, earlier this year, to abandon this story as I wasn't sure if it was good. I'm not a paranormal fan and know very little about the genre. As a result, I had to cop out by creating my own world of shifters and vampires. Though this is an NCIS fanfic, like my A Little Knight Music series, I have added my original characters, the main one being Jonas Raven.

Gibbs knows Jonas simply as Joe for the first 4 years of their relationship.

Tony is NOT an NCIS agent so forget about the NCIS canon and just go where I take you.

Jax Theron makes a small appearance but I may even write him out - or include other KnightShade operatives. I haven't decided yet.

I will do my best to finish this as quickly as possible but if it takes awhile, I will understand if you start hurling e-rotten tomatoes at me and give up on the story.

Wordcount currently stands at 59,000 words.

I'm hoping I can reach 80k. I'm writing the last leg of the story, the events of which will climax on Sept 27 when the Blood Moon's maximum eclipse is reached at 10.47pm. So I do apologize for not being able to post the completed story before this date but decided to, at least, give you what I can first.

Please allow that I'm likely to make changes, adjustments, and corrections as I go along - an unfortunate consequence of posting WIP :(

Your comments and feedback on the first few chapters are welcome, of course.

 

Tibbsian

 

========================================================================

 

**PROLOGUE**

 

 

_ Joint-Council Conference _

_ Summer, 2015 _

_ Château de Chillon; _

_ Eastern End of Lake Geneva _

 

It was a lovely summer's day and hordes of visitors strolled through the chateau, admiring, photographing and discussing Switzerland's most-visited historic monument.

Unknown to them, deep in one of the numerous dungeons below, four men and a lady sat on sturdy, worn chairs around a makeshift table. There was a tension in the semi-dark room, reflective of the significance of the meeting, for this was the first time the shifters were coming together with the vampires.

For Count Mordran, that the Vampire Council had even sanctioned this meeting was a big step. Vampires and shifters had such different cultures that they instinctively stayed away from each other. It wasn't that they were enemies but their toleration of each other did not extend to socializing, with the exception of a few. Mordran, and other forward-thinking vampires and shifters, hoped to change this.

Vampires considered themselves a class above the shifters - the white collar guys versus the blue. Vampires were highly individualistic and elitist, somewhat disdainful of the pack mentality of the shifters and occupied the highest echelons of the business and political world while the shifters provided the brawn, mostly through military expertise and law enforcement.

The exception were the malaweres - malamute shifters - an enigma to both their shifter brethren and vampires. Malaweres got on better with vampires - a trait which was viewed as strange, if not questionable, by non-canine shifters, especially the wolf shifters. Both species tended to stay away from each other. Not enemies, but not natural friends either - which made the presence of Anthony DiNozzo Snr at the conference all the more extraordinary.

Today's gathering was a milestone, indeed, in Mordran's eyes. All three - vampire, shifter and human - were represented. DiNozzo's wealth had bankrolled several missions in the past, and would, they all hoped, fund several more in the future.

"Good evening, gentlemen," Count Mordran began, after he started the recording of the meeting. "Thank you for your presence this evening. This may be a small gathering but I hope it will be the start of many more between shifters and vampires. For the purpose of the minutes, we have here today - Dr. Donald Mallard, Alpha of the North-East Quadrant; Trent Kort, head of Section 9, MI-6's special operations division and head of the European Federation of Shifters; Anthony DiNozzo Snr, President of the Global Malawere Alliance; Ms. Sarah Porter, Secretary of the United States Navy and President of the Vampire Association, and lastly myself - Count Mordran Bilhauser, Chairman of the Joint Vampire-Shifter Council." Mordran paused. "When this Joint Council met six months ago," he resumed a moment later. "The sole item on our agenda was to reform the Vampire-Human-Shifter - VHS - interrelationship. We decided that the way to achieve this was for the shifters and vampires to forge closer ties with each other _before_ we start making plans to reach out to the humans. To this end, we discussed the idea of bringing a liaison officer who would be accepted by both the shifters and the vampires. We nominated some suitable candidates and today's meeting was to vote on who would handle the task.

"However, certain developments arose soon after that meeting that have become a matter of grave urgency. Trent Kort brought them to my attention, and in doing so, confirmed my own source's intel. We have  confirmed that a group of rogue wolf shifters is working with a rogue vampire with the intent to take over leadership of the worldwide wolf packs. Their first target is the North American Federation of Shifters and they aim to destabilize the federation by assassinating  Leroy Jethro Gibbs - whose installation as the new alpha-rex is scheduled for September 27th, during the Full Blood Moon.

"With this situation upon us, we met last week and it was proposed that we set up a task force to neutralize these rogues. The codename for this mission is Operation Blood Moon. We also proposed the appointment of close protection officers for Alpha Gibbs until Operation Blood Moon is accomplished. While our long-term agenda of vampire-human-shifter relations remains unchanged, _today's_ agenda, however, has been amended. We are now to finalize the setting up of the task force for the execution of Operation Blood Moon, as well as install a liaison officer. Ms. Porter, would you share with us what you and Trent proposed when you met up last week?"

"Of course." SecNav nodded. "In view of the impending threat, Trent and I proposed that Jonas Raven, a US Navy SEAL, who has worked several black ops missions under Trent, head up Operation Blood Moon. Jonas will form his frontline team whose brief will be to locate, identify, and eliminate the threat to Leroy Jethro Gibbs. All cases involving killings we suspect were committed by the rogues will come under Operation Blood Moon. They will be isolated and transferred to the task force's AOR.

"We already have investigative teams in the Army, Air Force and civilian agencies but they are not aware that the murders they are investigating were not committed by humans. It will be Jonas' task to select members from these teams to make up his task force. We have sufficient members from both the shifter and vampire kingdoms to fill our needs. Members from the other branches of the military as well as the FBI and CIA will also be brought in. In my capacity as SecNav, I will meet with the other shifter leaders from those agencies to ensure only shifter teams are handling those cases and we'll monitor their progress. Ditto with the Navy, which is why NCIS, through Alpha Gibbs, will assign Operation Blood Moon cases to the task force team members to handle. I will also see to it that the civilian factions are looked after by my vampire compatriots.

"As SecNav, I will be speaking to NCIS Director Leon Vance to inform him that Gibbs and two other employees are being pulled out to handle a special undercover assignment. We already have stand-ins for Ms. Abby Sciuto and Timothy McGee. Ms. Sciuto and  Mr. McGee will be taken to Blood Moon task force headquarters to be read in. Dr. Mallard will be joining the task force to assist our current MEs as the body count is rising. All suspected victims will henceforth be taken to the Autopsy lab at the task force facility."

"Any clarifications needed?" Mordran asked, when SecNav paused for questions.

"Where is the task force facility being set up?" Anthony DiNozzo Snr asked.

"At your son's residence at Chain Bridge Road," SecNav answered. Seeing Anthony's look of surprise, she added, "When we scouted for suitable locations six months ago, Trent mentioned Tony's residence. It appears your son had it constructed as a bombproof safe house. The subterranean levels can be locked down in the event of a security breach above-ground. There is an underground escape route which goes under the Potomac and emerges out close to the Dalecarlia Reservoir.

She smiled. "Even I did not have a high enough clearance to enter the subterranean levels but Trent procured temporary clearance for me. Other than minor adjustments, it is exactly what we need. It is self-contained and the taskforce could live down there for months on end without having to emerge, if they have to."

"Which they won't," Trent added. "That's just to let you know what the place is like."

"And why, might I ask, would my son have needed such a sophisticated safe house?" Anthony asked, clearly stunned by this revelation.

Trent chuckled. "You've been spending way too much time in Europe, Anthony. Your son," he continued. "Has a security level clearance higher than any of us here, except me. Tony's years with the Diplomatic Security Service involved ensuring the safety of many high-profile targets. Some of these were kept at this location."

Anthony absorbed that for a while. "I see. I was not aware Tony had, uhh, expanded his career responsibilities to such a degree. And you have spoken to him about Operation Blood Moon?"

"Tony has already agreed to come on board, yes," Mordran said, answering for Trent. Anthony's brows shot up. "The threat must be imminent for Tony to agree. He has no fondness for this type of work."

"It is, Anthony," SecNav said. "Eight months ago, last November, Reuters reported an incident in Beni, a town in Congo. A young man was stoned by a crowd then eaten. It was claimed that the victim was a suspected member of the Islamist group ADF-NAUL. He may...he may not be, but the people who turned him into their next meal weren't the Beni villagers."

"What were they, then?" Anthony asked.

"Shifters," Trent replied. "And vampires."

SecNav grimaced. "It may be de rigueur," she interjected. "For the residents in a Congo town to kill and eat a perceived enemy, but if Washingtonians were to wake up to the morning news of the same happening in, say, Georgetown, it would be quite another matter."

"I couldn't agree more," Anthony said. "In fact, I've gone on a low red meat diet. I'm eating only chicken and rabbit these days."

Silence met DiNozzo's remark, then Trent said, "Then are we all in agreement concerning the task force?"

There were nods of assent.

"Any other questions or comments? If not, we can go to vote," Mordran said.

"Just one," Anthony said. "What, exactly, is my son's role in Operation Blood Moon? Is he merely letting us use his house?"

"Ah," Mordran smiled. "Tony's involvement extends beyond the use of his residence. Briefly, by bringing Tony into Operation Blood Moon, we take care of two birds with one stone - Tony will be the liaison officer between the vampires and shifters, and he will be the future alpha-rex's full-time bodyguard. But first, let's vote to formalize the mission."

The vote to set up the taskforce was unanimous and Jonas Raven was designated the executive officer of Operation Blood Moon.

"Tony and Jonas are already in DC, preparing for Jethro's arrival," Trent said. "Sarah will call them after the meeting to confirm their engagement by the Council and when Jethro Gibbs will be read in. As to our second item - Alpha Gibbs' protective detail - Anthony, we are nominating Tony DiNozzo to be the primary close protection officer along with Jonas Raven and a team of other operatives. Gibbs will not go anywhere without at least two Close Protective Officers with him."

Anthony frowned. "I must say I'm puzzled as to your choice of Alpha Gibbs' bodyguard. Why Tony? Why not someone from NCIS? The FBI, CIA...any of the alphabet agencies. We have a large population of shifters in these agencies. Tony's an officer with the _diplomatic_ service. He doesn't -"

"Anthony," Trent interrupted, knowing what DiNozzo Snr was going to say. "When I said Tony's job with the DSS involved ensuring the safety of his charges, I meant _direct action_. Do not underestimate your son, Mr. DiNozzo. Tony is perfectly capable of working a mission alone, if need be. He is a regular Fed on paper only. Tony's also no glory-seeker and we can trust him to put Alpha Gibbs' safety first. _Always_."

"But Tony is a malawere," his father argued. "We don't kill. We hate killing even though we have a high protective instinct."

"Come on, Anthony," SecNav smiled. "Malamutes, like all animals, will attack - and kill - if their young is in danger. You expect me to believe a malamute _shifter_ , a malawere, won't do as much? He will do more!"

"Do you know Tony killed a snake shifter just before his sixteenth birthday?" Trent asked Anthony.

"What?" Anthony's head snapped round to Trent. "What snake shifter?"

Trent chuckled. "You must ask him about that one of these days. Your son is one of the best operatives I've had the pleasure to command. He may be a born diplomat, prefer negotiation to neutralization but believe me, he will kill without hesitation when he has to. And that's why he's going to guard Alpha Gibbs twenty-four seven, together with Jonas."

Anthony sighed. "You are right, of course. Tony's always been different. An aberration. Do you know he gained control of his shifting within six months instead of the usual twelve?"

"Yes," Mordran replied. "He is rather atypical. Though aren't malaweres already different from wolf shifters? You shift at age thirteen whereas the wolves shift at eighteen. Isn't that right?" he looked at Trent, who nodded. "Well, then," Mordran said, softly. "Not an aberration. _Rara avis*_ is so much more apt, don't you think? A rare bird, is our Tony."

"Well, I fully agree with assigning him to Alpha Gibbs' protective detail," SecNav said. "If anyone has the patience, the skills, and the good nature to handle Gibbs, it would be Tony."

Trent looked uncertain, despite his own glowing assessment of Tony.

"Second thoughts, Trent?" SecNav asked.

"Oh, I agree Tony is everything we say he is but I'm not sure if he is up to handling Jethro Gibbs _,_ " Trent replied. "I know Gibbs well. I've worked with Gibbs on some undercover missions together years ago in Munich and Paris. Excellent agent but a right bastard. Bigger sonofabitch you won't find. I hear he's worse as he gets older."

Anthony smiled. "Well, I haven't met this Gibbs but his reputation precedes him. I've heard it said he's gotten more crotchety and reclusive as the years go by. But...I'm sure my son is up to the task."

Trent snorted at Anthony's smirk. "As you said, _you_ haven't met Gibbs."

 

 

**END OF PROLOGUE**

**_______________________________**

* _Rara avis_ \- A rare or unique person or thing; FreeDictionary  

 

========================================================================================

 

** PART ONE - CHAPTER 1 **

**GIBBS & JONAS**

 

****

**_1975, Western Foothills of the Sierra Nevada_ **

**3RD PERSON POV**

 

Tricia awoke with a jerk. They'd been driving through the night, wanting to get to the pack headquarters in Lake Tahoe before sundown. The baby was still asleep, strapped in his car seat. She needed to pee. She could shift and run down the embankment to do it. That might be faster than scrabbling up and down on two legs. There were definitely advantages to being a wolf shifter.

She turned to Peter to tell him to pull to the side and realized he'd fallen asleep at the wheel. Ahead, a truck had pulled out.

"Peter!" She shouted, but it but it was too late. Their sedan slammed head-on into the back of the old dump truck.

o     o     o

The two occupants from the truck hopped down, running to the wrecked sedan as they heard the wails of a baby.

"I'll get the kid," the woman said, wrenching open the car's back door which, considering the extent of the damage, was a surprise it could be opened. "You check the grownups."

"Damn," the man growled, shining the flashlight into the vehicle. "They're dead. Man's been decapitated." He looked up at the dark stretch of mountain road. No vehicle lights in the distance. He dug into his jeans for his cell phone.

"Wait." The woman came round to him. "I'm taking the baby."

"What?"

"You heard me. C'mon, let's go. You said the grownups are dead. We can't wait around for the cops. Not with the stash we've got in the truck."

She was right, the man thought. Possession of marijuana with intent to sell and cultivation of the plant was a felony. So was mere transportation.

"Hurry up and get in the damn truck or I'm leaving you here!" The woman hugged the wailing infant to her breast. A baby. She was going to have a baby at last.

   


**_Six Months Later;_ **

**_Downtown, Las Vegas_ **

"Open up! Police!" The loud banging brought more neighbors poking their heads out of their apartments before ducking back in again. In this neighborhood, hanging around when the cops turned up wasn't a smart thing to do.

But Kayla was the one who'd called the cops, telling them the baby in the apartment next door had been crying non-stop and that she thought something had happened to the parents. The baby, she'd added, had been crying for three days, whimpering to a stop then starting up again a few hours later and no one had seen the parents, which they usually did at least once a day.

"I betcha they're rotting inside," Kayla told the cops. "I know this neighborhood don't smell very good to begin with and this buildin's probably the worse but I still say that's what that stench is. Of cos it could just be ol' Joe from next door throwin' his poo at the missus again." Seeing her out there, other neighbors started coming out, and more from the floors above and below.

Kayla was wrong about the smell being from ol Joe's feces; she was right that it came from the decomposing bodies of two adults, a male and a female. That wasn't all. They found a baby, could be a year old or less, in his cot. The poor thing's bottom was covered in feces, the diaper heavy with stale urine. It was shrieking one minute, whimpering the next, then started wailing again when one of the cops picked it up.

o     o     o

For the next few years, the twice-orphaned kid would be picked up by more strange hands.

It would not be until he turned fourteen that those green eyes would see, and his bruised, battered body would feel, that his traumatized spirit could believe, that there was good destined for him. Good things. Good people. An everlasting love.

 o     o     o **  
**

 

_**1989; Norfolk, VA** _

_****JONAS' POV** ** _

Twenty foster homes in ten years does not instill trust and security. I'd been taken from my home - if you could call it that - when I was about a year old and neighbors called the cops because of the "bad smell" coming from my apartment and my non-stop crying.

When they broke in, they found my parents dead from a drug overdose, and me tied to a crib marinating in my urine and shit.

Social Services came and took me away and then it was discovered my parents weren't my biological ones. I only learnt this when I was eleven and my final foster mother told me. ‘Final' because her husband beat her to death shortly after, when she tried to protect me from yet another rape. I ran when I realized she was dead and my body would be the next lifeless one if I hung around.

I vowed, then, I'd never go into another foster home. Some kids are lucky and are placed with good people. I wasn't one of those.

Every foster home I'd been placed with had been hellholes. Every foster mother thought I was " _such_ a pretty child" but those would turn to "little slut!" or "devil spawn" and other similar hackneyed descriptions when their husbands and/or sons started calling me "pretty boy", not to tease but as their code phrase. It meant time for me to get on my knees and start sucking, and then just on my hands and knees and shut up. ‘Not So Pretty Boy' was for after they'd burnt me with cigarette butts (not very original, I know, but convenient for them), after they'd whipped me with their belts as I was chained naked to the bed post or table leg until my back and legs were covered in welts. More beatings would tear open the skin and scabs.

They left my face alone, though. They'd all abuse my skinny body till it was a landscape of scars and pit marks, until my back resembled the lunar surface.

After my twelfth foster mom - the only one who cared about me but was too sick with the Big C to do anything - was killed, I decided living on the streets was safer.

In a way it was. I found boys and girls in similar situations. We pimped and we sold ourselves, pooled what money we earned, or stole, and managed to keep ourselves warm enough through the winter, though like migratory birds, we'd find ourselves making our way down to the warmer states for the winter.

I was the one always chosen to go talk to the local gang leader, asking permission to work his turf for the winter until it was warm enough for us to go home. I was picked because even though at fourteen I was the youngest, I was big. I experienced a growth spurt shortly after my fourteenth birthday and was six feet tall. Of course it was weird but on the streets it was an advantage, even if I ended up with the nickname Jolly Green Giant after I knocked down a tin of green paint and got it all over me.

Sometimes it was three or four of us and sometimes it was just me left on the streets, the others having found some temp job that would at least provide them food and lodging.

My big size made it easy for me to pass myself off as eighteen but being able to pass off for eighteen and actually _being_ eighteen are two very different things. I had no ID so I couldn't get a real job and I found many home owners wouldn't even let me mow their lawn because I looked rough. Pretty, but rough, and my unkempt, dirty, shoulder-length hair didn't help. ‘They're afraid you'll break in, kill ‘em and rob ‘em'. That's what Hilda, one of my first street friends, told me, but adopting a swagger to accompany the assortment of scars, the don-t-fuck-with-me look meant I could get a few days of peace and quiet before I got pulled into another fight.

Vinnie and Vega got busted recently and are serving a six month sentence while Hilda has found herself some sugar daddy who has a taste for prepubescent girls. He paid her upfront for two weeks twenty-four seven at his mansion. So he says. I'm wondering if I'll ever see her again, it just means I'm alone again. I hope one day I'll get used to it, but inside I have this feeling I can't explain. Like I belong somewhere, to someone; that I have a family somewhere, or people who care about me, like I not only belong to them but that they love me.

Of course, it could just be the hunger messing up my brain. Can't tell wishful thinking from reality. I hadn't eaten since yesterday morning when a passerby tossed his half-eaten sandwich in the garbage bin. I'd dug it out, thrilled to see there was more than half there, and clean because it was partly still in its wrapper. I'd picked off the cigarette butt that had dropped into it, blown off the ash and gobbled it down.

After three hours of not finding anything close to edible, my stomach's protesting loudly. At fourteen I could eat every hour on the hour and that sandwich had been more than twenty-four hours ago.

The nearest burger joint was just the next block down and I figured I'd be able to steal myself a burger. A lot of people put their tray down and are about to start eating when they realize something is missing - no ketchup, the fries are regular instead of large, they forgot to get a straw. It takes only a moment for them to get up and go to the counter but I've already got their burger in my coat pocket, the door closing on my ass.

Today, however, no one was getting up and leaving their food. Everyone was hungry. Not even a few leftover fries because today they all decide to be civic-minded citizens and returned their trays to the tray station when they were done.

I was about to leave when the doors open and this jarhead comes in. He's got that cleancut look - black hair clipped short and piercing blue eyes. So handsome he ought to be in the movies.

So I do what I do best.

I went close to my mark as he's waiting in line. "A burger for a blow?" I said, softly. "Quickie in the alley up the road if you get me a full meal."

Jarhead looked startled for a moment then asked, "How much to take you home?"

I shrugged. There were three more people in front of him. "How long you wanna keep me?"

"Overnight?"

I had no idea what to charge for an all-nighter. I'd only hustled for blow jobs and alley quickies for $10 and $15.

"Fifty," I said, with all the confidence I could muster.

"Okay," Sailorman said. "I still want a burger. Do you?"

"Um, sure," I said.

"Grab a table."

I did, thinking as I sat down that Jarhead wasn't too smart. I could eat my burger and split. What was he gonna do in a crowded burger joint? Yell that I cheated him out of a blowjob?

I shook my head. He had at least six years on me but street smarts, I was way ahead. Not that I'd run out on him. Jarhead was the best-looking guy I've ever seen up close and the way my life was...I'd be lucky to see my 15th birthday. I'd turned down Rocco for the third time and had gotten a warning this time - join his gang or get gangraped and the dumpster would be my final resting place.

So I take whatever I can get for the moment, be it food, sex, shelter...never been lucky to get all three. Not unless you count stale biscuits, expired boxes of mac and cheese, daily rapes and a thin mattress on the floor. The handsome jarhead buying me a double burger and fries is going to be about the best I can get so I was going to take it all.

I can't say who was more surprised - me or him - when I finished my burger and asked if he was ready to collect and he told me I didn't have to.

"What?" I asked stupidly.

"Don't have to pay me back," Jarhead said. "Burger's free."

I should have just said ‘thank you' and clear out but no, I said, "Thanks, but I don't mind. I mean I want to - if that's what you want." Or maybe I just wanted a warm bed for the night.

Without another word, he got up and I followed him to his car. Once we were inside, he pulled me in for a tongue-sucking kiss.

Wow! I normally hate kissing. All the foster daddies wanted to kiss me me and a couple even treated me well compared to the others - no punching, no cigarette burns. I would have stayed if not for their wives finding out what the old man was doing the five, six hours they were at work.

But Jarhead...his kiss is waking my cock up. I suddenly wondered if he knew how old I was. Better he not know because I wanted this man to fuck me. My foster daddies had taught me how to come when I was nine. Eight maybe - not that I needed lessons since jerking off kinda comes naturally, pun not at all intended. More like they liked watching me jerk off and most times they'd be mouthing dirty things while they stuffed their cocks in my mouth and urged me on, rewarding me with a few dollars when I did come.

Jarhead is introducing something new and I'm kinda jumbled up inside.

"You still want this?" he asked, releasing me.

"Yeah," I said.

"I'm not paying you. You either let me fuck you - no money involved - or get out of my car." He turned the engine over.

"I'm going wherever you're going. You can kick me out when you're done."

o     o     o

We went back to Jarhead's house. Jethro, his name was. Jethro Gibbs. When he'd asked me for mine, I said ‘Joe'. He didn't ask me for a last name and I was thankful for that. I had no desire to remember any of the last names I'd been given with each successful foster family.

When Jethro opened the door to his house, it was I who slammed him against the wall and attacked his mouth, unzipped his pants then sank to my knees. Fuckin' Jarhead had an enormous dick. I found it hard to breathe, his cockhead so hard and huge my air passages were squashed. It was the clumsiest blow job I've ever given and I consider myself an expert, having been taught how to give one since I was six. Oh, those foster daddies didn't waste any time.

Jethro eased my mouth off him. "Upstairs. My bedroom."

I was struck by Jethro's bedroom. It was so neat and the bedsheets were sparkling white. It felt kinda wrong, somehow, me being on it getting fucked. I was used to facing an alley wall. Then I remembered he wasn't paying me and he wasn't a john, or my foster Daddy or foster big brother (yeah, sometimes it was the two of ‘em going at me), and suddenly it didn't feel so wrong anymore.

Jethro shoved me towards a door at the end of the hallway. "Take a shower first. A long, hot one. Wash out your ass. You stink. Strip off and pass me your clothes. I'll get you some clean ones."

What the fuck? Was he for real? I stripped off, anyway, looking around at the bathroom. A hot shower would be really nice, especially in this great-looking bathroom. I scrubbed myself real clean. I try to shower as often as I can but sometimes the nearest free public shower is too far away for me to get a wash every day. My last shower was four days ago so yeah, I guess if you got too close you'd know it.

As I expected, Jethro was a bossy lover, ordering me to spread, to turn around, to put my legs on his shoulders, to do everything. But he was also gentle even if he fucked me so hard I hit my head against the headboard and nearly concussed.

He was gentle because afterwards, he got me off while kissing me, then held me close and we both fell asleep. Or _he_ did. I had lain there thinking I didn't ever want to leave, knowing I would have to. Fucking ironic. I'd spent most of my childhood wanting to run away and now I wanted nothing more than to stay.

"This your room?" I asked a couple of hours later when Jethro awoke.

"Yeah."

"You live here all by yourself?"

"Yeah."

"You a Marine?"

"Yeah."

"You still want me to stay the night?"

"Yeah."

"Can I take another shower?"

Jethro looked at me. "Go ahead."

I picked up my clothes and padded to the door.

"Hey."

"I turned, expecting him to tell me to clear out after I showered.

"You hungry yet?" he asked me instead. "I can fix us dinner."

 _Fix us dinner?_ I hadn't heard that phrase in years. I was going to get a home-cooked meal?

 

**\-------------**

**TBC**

**\-------------**


	2. PART ONE: GIBBS & JONAS - CHAPTER 2

**PART ONE - CHAPTER 2**

**GIBBS & JONAS**

 

 

_**JONAS' POV** _

I think I learnt something today, as I stood in the shower stall - bujt wait, this is something new to me, too. All the showers I've had were standing inside a bathtub and pulling a moldy plastic curtain. I've never seen a shower stall so I was fascinated. That's why I wanted a second shower, not because I needed to wash off Jethro's and my cum. I'm used to going for days with other men's cum on me, just wiping off what I can with whatever tissues or paper napkins I can find. I just wanted to stand in that clean cubicle with its bottles of shampoo and nice-smelling soap.

I also learnt - apart from shower stalls - that sometimes things could be better inside than it looks on the outside. Like how I just saw this Jarhead and expected to get a burger and nothing more for a blow job but was given a full meal and Jarhead not making me pay for it in kind. I'd blown dozens of Jarheads, living here in Norfolk, close to the Base, been fucked by almost as many but none had treated me like Jethro.

Then this house. From the outside it's just another one of those white clapboard houses but inside, it looked like one of them pictures from those fancy houses I see on the magazine stands. I flipped through one once and couldn't believe there were houses like that and that real people who lived in them. I wondered, for a long time, what their kids' lives were like.

Anyway, Jethro's house - what little I saw before he hauled me upstairs - didn't have any fancy furniture or expensive stuff but it gave me a strangely nice feeling. It also made me want to cry. This pain started in my chest and spread through me till I went slight dizzy and my eyes began to sting. I learnt there were places that affected me strangely. Like Jethro's simple white house. I wanted to stay here. Forever. Yet knew I didn't belong here, that come tomorrow morning I'd be out on my ass again, peddling it to the next guy who didn't care how old I was, just that my ass was tight.

There was a knock on the door before it opened and Jethro poked his head in.

"Clothes on the bed. Come on down when you're ready."

Jethro fed me my second meal of the day. Frozen lasagna his best friend's girlfriend had made. It tasted like heaven. Better than the leftover I'd found in the dumpster last month. That had given me the runs for two days.

I learnt, that day, apart from such things as shower cubicles and small, cheap-looking homes that could be wonderful inside, that there were good men. Men who wanted to fuck me, yeah, but who were also good, and kind, and wouldn't hit or burn me.

I learnt, too, that even with good men like Jethro, I couldn't always tell the truth - that it was best to lie, no matter what.

o     o     o

I've been living with Jethro for three months now. He'd be gone for a few weeks then come back, then off again. He thought I was on summer break, waiting to start college in the Fall. It was just one of the lies I'd let him believe. Like I was eighteen instead of fourteen. I knew a guy like him wouldn't have let me anywhere near him if he knew I was jailbait. I let him shave me bald in case I had head lice. I don't think I did but if I was wrong,  it was a bit too late since he'd already fucked me on his bed. I didn't argue, of course. Just did what he told me I had to do. Just like how I've been taught.

There were so many times I wanted to leave while he was asleep or while he was away but could never bring myself to. I told myself I was staying because of the fancy shower, the hot meals, the kingsize bed...the mind-blowing sex. I loved how Jethro fucked me. There was nowhere in his house he hadn't fucked me. He loved shoving me over the sofa back, spreading my ass open and eating me inside out. I'd never done that, or have it done to me and the first time I felt his warm, wet tongue on my hole, I'd yelped and fallen headlong over the couch onto the floor.

After that, it became a regular part of our love-making. Jethro didn't even care if I hadn't showered and cleaned myself yet. He said he liked my scent. Really? He liked my stinky asshole? I mean no matter how well I wiped off after a dump, the smell remained. I could smell it on my fingers when I scratched myself. I made sure to wash myself every time I took a crap but sometimes he caught me before I could get to the bathroom, which was upstairs. I know people have their kinks but this ass-sniffing one, it surprised me that Jethro liked it.

One day, I did the same to him. I grabbed him as soon as he walked in the door, and found out I, too, liked the ripe smell of his asshole. I thought it was sick but didn't say so to him. I mean, only dogs do that, right? Maybe years of living on the streets had turned me into one. I didn't stop him and I didn't stop doing it to him either. If it grossed some people out - and I'm sure it does - I couldn't give a fuck. All I cared was that it didn't hurt but felt _so_ good.

It's early August now. Realizing I'd have to tell Jethro I had no college or any other classes, I told him I'd decided not to go to college after all, that I'd go get a job so that I could pay my share of the expenses. He'd insisted that I go to college, saying that a good education was one the basic necessities of life. Man, when he got like that he sounded like my class teachers - until I dropped out, that is.

Jethro was so adamant, even wanting me to go to the college and paying the fees, that I had no choice but to tell him I why I couldn't go to college.

The look on his face made me jump up from the couch to make a run for it but he was faster and tackled me to the ground.

"What the fuck did you just say?" he growled in my face.

"Let go. I can't breathe." I struggled and wiggled like a giant worm in his viselike grip. "Let...go...I'll...tell ya."

He let me up but looked like he was going to beat the shit out of me.

"Start talking or I'm calling the cops. Or Social Services."

I laughed, standing up and pulling my tee shirt down. "Get real, Jethro. What are you gonna tell them? That you sheltered me for three months and fucked me because you didn't know I was fourteen? That I looked eighteen? Man, the cops have heard it all before. But, hey - I'll just get out of your hair, okay? I mean I was living on the streets so it's not gonna be a big shock to me, ya know?"

Except it was a huge one to Jethro. He called his best friend, a pregnant lady named Shannon, who took me in to stay with her. Apparently her fiance died recently and she said she would love to have me stay with her. Really? She'd never met me until a few hours ago but apparently she trusts Jethro and if he thought it was okay, then it was okay.

Shannon turned out to be really nice person. She became like a big sister to me. I could see she loved me like I was her kid brother.

She and Jethro persuaded me to go back to school but to do that they had to sort out the legal crap. Shannon had a friend who worked with Social Services and with her help, she became my legal guardian. I had to have a last name so I said ‘Smith'. Original, I was not.

Jethro came over often but he never allowed himself to be alone with me. I tried but he refused to touch me. It drove me insane. I couldn't understand how he could go from doing all the things he'd done to not wanting to even be alone with me. Like I was gonna force him to fuck me?

Then Shannon gave birth and I had a kid sister. She was the most adorable thing I had ever seen. Jethro spent almost all his time at our house whenever he wasn't at sea. Sometimes he'd sleep on the couch.

One night, when Kelly was three, she had a nightmare. I offered to look after her so Shannon could sleep as she was working the early morning shift. After I put Kelly to bed in her cot which I'd moved into my bedroom, I went over to Jethro, who had woken up when Kelly screamed.

To my surprise, he didn't walk away like he usually did when I sat down next to him. I'd been very careful never to go too near or to touch him since that day he found out I was only 14.

But I wasn't 14 anymore.

 

\---------------

**TBC**

\---------------


	3. PART ONE : GIBBS & JONAS - CHAPTER 3

 

** PART ONE - CHAPTER 3 **

**GIBBS & JONAS**

 

 

_****JONAS' POV** ** _

My 18th birthday was two days ago. Plus, I'd grown another four inches, making me six four. My body had matured and because I loved sports and exercise, my muscles were well-defined and I knew I looked good.

I've been living with Shannon for four years now. Time to end that, and with some luck, move over to Jethro's. I figure I've been very understanding and patient, waiting until I'm eighteen to hit on him again. The guy's just one of those old-fashioned dudes and wants to do things right. I can respect that, especially having grown up among men and women who treated me like trash.

It was late and Shannon had gone to bed. Kelly was fretful and crying for attention. As usual, I'm the one carrying her until she settles. After I put her back in the cot, I went to the kitchen to get a glass of water. Jethro had woken up from the crying and was in the living room watching some late-night movie. I sat down beside him and when I moved in close, he didn't stop me.

The tent in his boxer shorts was too distracting and I reached for his cock but he stopped me.

"I'm not fourteen anymore," I told him.

"I know."

"Then?"

"Not here, Joe. Not tonight."

"Then please tell me where and when. Just don't say no," I whispered. "I've waited four years."

Jethro sighed and replied, "Tomorrow. _My_ place. Shannon's mom is moving in to look after Kelly. You can move in with me if you want."

And just like that, my four Jethro-less years came to an end. The next day, I moved back to Jethro's as soon as Shannon got home from work. I had another month to go before I started college and Jethro had three weeks left of his shore leave before he was off at sea.

We lived like a regular gay couple during those three weeks. It was the best time of my life. I was so in love with Jethro, whose full name, I had learnt, was Leroy Jethro Gibbs, and he was ten years older than me. During those three weeks, we drove all over the state, went fishing, did grocery-shopping, cooked...all the stuff normal families did. And we fucked. Almost all the chance we could get, Jethro's cock was either in my mouth or pounding the life out of my ass. He ate me out like a starving man and one thing I discovered, too - he loved sniffing me. My neck, my balls, my asshole...he sniffed me all the time, as if he were a dog.

I ended up wanting to smell him, too. It was weird but at least once a day, we'd just lie down naked and just sniff each other. I'd started licking and sucking on his asshole, too, and found I loved it as much as having it done to me. I felt I'd died and gone straight to heaven.

He never told me he loved me, though. In fact, he never gave me any reason to think I was more than someone he was looking after like a stray who'd followed him home and that he'd decided to keep. Of course the sex was awesome and it was as if he just couldn't get enough of me...but Jethro never volunteered signs of affection. It was as if providing food, shelter and sex was all he could give me.

I told myself it was more than I ever thought I'd have in my life but I had to be honest - I was grateful....very, but I needed more from Jethro. I needed to hear, to feel, and see, that he was _in_ love with me. Yeah, I was silly. But I was an eighteen year-old and we want everything and more.

Jethro also had a lot of books for a guy who spent at least two weeks of the month at sea. He had a lot of books on carpentry and woodworking. I wasn't interested in them except for the one on making ancient weapons out of wood and other natural materials. There were some cool weapons - like crossbows and the Roman ballista, which was an ancient missile weapon, all made with wood and ropes. I was fascinated and he took the time to explain each item he was making, teaching me how to select the right type and piece of wood, how to carve and sand. He took me hunting with the crossbows and since Jethro didn't like running the long distances but I did, it fell on me to go find and collect our game.

"How come you don't like running?" I asked Jethro after one of our hunting sessions. "Shannon told me you and some guys play football with the neighborhood youths."

"That's a ball game. It's not _running_ running, and it's not ‘fetch'," he replied, again tousling my hair. He liked doing that, as if I was still a kid.

Maybe Jethro was just kinky. Maybe under the initial horrified protest four years ago, he liked fucking kids.

Like I said from the start, my life experiences have taught me to second guess everything and everyone. If I can trust anyone, it ought to be Jethro, I tell myself, but what if I was wrong about him? What if he...I whacked myself on the back of the head. _Shut up, you idiot._

Then the three weeks was over, Jethro reported back to Base and was gone the next day. I wouldn't see him for another two weeks and they went by so slowly I thought I'd go out of my mind. My temp job at the supermarket had started so that kept me busy, except for the nights when I missed Jethro something awful. I couldn't wait to start college. That would help.

o     o     o

Jethro was due home in a couple of days. I'd made sure the house was clean and the the pantry was stocked. The laundry was done and I settled down to wait for my man to come home. I had to laugh a bit, though. I was 18 years old but acting like a newly-married suburban housewife. I sighed. If I were a woman, we could get married. Of course, if I were a woman, Jethro might not be interested. He'd told me he thought he was bisexual but wasn't sure. Or that maybe he just wasn't fussy. Sex was sex to him no matter where or who he got it from.

I laid on our bed, fantasizing of our reunion. I couldn't go meet him at the Naval Base for obvious reasons - he was afraid I'd forget and kiss him in front of his mates so I had to stay home and wait.

I fell asleep sometime after midnight and had the weirdest dream ever. I dreamt I'd turned into a wolf. I felt my body stretching in different places and a woozy feeling coming over me.

I awoke with a jerk and saw it was just after three in the morning. My body hurt like I'd been over-exercising. I got out of bed and found I'd suddenly gone short. Short, like a dwarf! What the hell?

I pressed the flat button on the base of the bedside lamp and yelled when instead of my hand, I saw a paw. And my yell - it sounded more like a howl. I ran to the bathroom and stood on my hind legs to hit the light switch.

And howled in fright when I caught my reflection on the mirror.

I dashed out of the bathroom, panting in fright. It was a wolf staring back at me in the mirror. I looked down at myself. Furry front legs about two feet high. I ran around in circles in the bedroom not knowing what to do. What happened? How could this happen? Of course I'd heard about werewolves. In comics. And in movies, except I looked nothing like Hugh Jackman and Wolverine had those cool retractable claws, not paws. No tail, either, which I most definitely had. And Wolverine was human. Sort of. I wasn't.

After circling around the bedroom for an hour, I decided to try and sleep. Perhaps this was just one of those dreams called ‘lucid dreams'. I jumped onto the bed, staring into the dark - which wasn't as dark as it normally is. Was it a full moon? I ran to the window but couldn't see anything and couldn't open it because I had no hands. Fuck.Fuck.Fuck.

I ran downstairs, out to the backyard. Thank God for push-down handles and Jethro's habit of not locking his doors.

There it was. A frickin' full moon.

Just as I turned to go back into the house, wondering what the hell I ate or drank that could cause me to hallucinate, I transformed back to my human form.

I had such a shock I stumbled on the back steps and fell, hitting my head. I rolled over to get up, still cursing, and yelped when I found myself back to wolf form. No-ooo!

I don't take drugs. I don't even smoke, so this couldn't be a drug-induced altered state of consciousness or some similar shit. I was about to go back in the house and phone Shannon when I realized I wouldn't be able to push the numbers on my cell phone.

Could I even talk? I tried. All I got was a hoarse gagging sound like the mongrel that followed me around when I was streetkid, until it died of some illness. It had been coughing for a few days, then started coughing up blood. It keeled over the next day, dead.

Was that what was going to happen to me? How was I going to get help? I couldn't even turn up at Shannon's house - not with her mom and Kelly there - and how would I be able to tell her it was me? She'd freak and scream, if she'd even open her door to someone thumping on her door in the middle of the night. No, she'd call the cops and I'd be shot dead.

The thing was, I felt perfectly fine. I wasn't coughing up blood, I wasn't dizzy anymore, the earlier ache in my muscles was completely gone. In fact, I felt lighter and stronger than I'd ever felt in my life. I was about to go back in the house when I heard a name. Sounded like mine.

I stopped. Did I hear it? There. Again.

_Jonas._

Jonas? Who the hell was Jonas? I cocked my head and peered into the trees at the end of the backyard. The area beyond was heavily-wooded and despite the full moon, I couldn't see anyone.

_Jonas. Joe._

Joe? That was me but who was Jonas?

Then I saw it.

A large gray wolf. It emerged from the woods, padding towards me. When it was about two feet away, it morphed into a man.

"Jonas," he said again. "Time to go." Then he squatted down and hugged me, muttering something unintelligible into my ear then stepped back. I continued to watch him then felt myself changing back to human form.

"I'm Mason," the man said. "I'm here to take you to your pack, but yeah, I know you have questions. Let's go inside and I'll tell you everything you need to know.

I refused to budge. "Look, Mister." I thrust my face forward till we were almost nose-to-nose. "I don't know what the hell this really is but I'm not going anywhere. I _live_ here. Now get out before I call the cops. Or better still, beat you to a pulp." Which I figured I could easily do since I was a full head taller than him.

"Jonas. Or Joe as you're called here," Mason said quietly. "You don't want me make you so just come with me quietly,"

" _Make_ me."

He did. Before I knew it, I was facedown on the ground with Mason's knee in the small of my back. He cuffed me. _Cuffed_ me! And hauled me to my feet.

"In five minutes, back-up will be here, so we can wait out here or we can go inside and you start packing your stuff."

"Fuck off." I sat down on the porch stoop. I heard a car door slam and footsteps coming round the side of the house.

"What's taking you so long?" The first guy asked.

The one behind him said, "We gotta move. Where's his stuff?"

"Get him in the car," Mason said. "I'll grab his things."

I yelled. Loud. The neighbors would hear and call the cops.

"Shit! Shut him up." The first guy hissed.

"Get him inside," Mason said.

Between the three of them, they gagged me and got me into the house.

"You don't belong here, Jonas Raven," Mason said, sitting me down as the two men stuffed my belongings in the suitcase they'd brought with them. "You belong with your pack family."

"What...pack?" I asked warily. "And my name isn't Jonas. Or Raven," I said, before I remembered I didn't really know. It sure as hell wasn't Joe Smith.

"Your name is Jonas Raven. Your biological parents were Peter and Tricia Raven. You're a wolf shifter just like your parents were. They're dead and we..." he paused. "uhh, lost you.Anyway, all shifter births are recorded. We also know when a person shifts for the first time, which is how we found out about you and are here to bring you home. I'll give you the rest of the details once we're on the road."

"Hey! That belongs to Jethro." I reached out to grab the shirt one of the guys was packing. "I told you - I don't know what shit you're talking about but Jethro's my legal guardian so you can't just take me away."

They did. Before the sun was even up.

 

\-----------

**TBC**

\-----------

 

_**Note: This ends PART ONE and Jonas' back story. I will post some chapters from PART TWO tomorrow. They are Tony's back story and how he met Gibbs.** _


	4. PART TWO: GIBBS & TONY - CHAPTER 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We are still doing the characters' back story so things tend to be a little slow. We only move to Present Day in Part 4 so, hopefully, you have the patience to wait it out.
> 
> Overview:  
> Part 1: Gibbs' & Jonas' back story  
> Part 2: Gibbs' & Tony's back story  
> Part 3: Tony & Jonas - how they became lovers  
> Part 4: Picks up from the Prologue. Tonty and Jonas are reunited with Gibbs after 20 years. Takes us to the final leg of the story

PART TWO - CHAPTER 4

**GIBBS & TONY**

 

 

 

 

_**One Month Later;** _

The lone sniper waited in the noonday heat, the full moon a pale disk in the clear blue sky. A trickle of sweat ran down his cheek while the beads from his hairline were sucked up by his headband.

A small cloud of dust in the distance alerted the hunter to his prey's arrival.

One shot.

One kill.

One down.

None to go.

o     o     o

 

 

**GIBBS' POV**

I slept well that night. The man who'd ordered the deaths of my best friend's wife and daughter was dead. I'd gotten my payback and I'd done it cleanly and clinically.

Then walked away, as always.

I was to have been the best man at Tom's and Shannon's wedding. When Tom was killed in a vehicle accident two weeks before the wedding, we'd all been devastated. Tom and I had been inseparable from the day we met - two seven year-olds facing down two bigger, older bullies. There was nothing we kept from each other after that. Every weekend would find me climbing up to sit on Thomas Edward Haine's window sill waking up my best friend so we could go play.

We fished, played ball and went to school together. We mowed the lawn, washed the family cars and ran errands together, even when those didn't require two of us.

I was fifteen when I confessed to Tom I got turned on by naked pictures of men, not just women. Tom's reaction was as if an alien had popped out of his friend and said so. That, naturally, didn't help my struggle with same-sex attraction. But Tom came through once he realized his ass was safe from me.

"Just because I'm into boys as well as girls doesn't mean I'm into incest," I had said indignantly, for that was what Tom was to me. Closer than a real brother could be, if the brawling de Soto family down the road was anything to go by. Not a week went by that I didn't hear one de Soto sibling or other was being taken to the emergency ward.

Tom and I had disagreements but we'd never been angry enough to come to blows. We loved each other warts and all, and remained as close as ever even into adulthood, if not more. We joined the Corps and when our ship visited the ports and I hooked up with like-minded guys, it was Tom who ensured I got back to the ship in one piece. It was I who introduced Shannon to Tom when my shy neighbor asked me if my best friend had a girlfriend. I'd said and promptly fixed that.

Soon after we joined the Corps, Tom and I moved to DC, sharing a small house we rented from Tom's aunt as it was closer to Norfolk than Stillwater, Pennsylvania.

When Tom was killed, Shannon told me she was already three weeks pregnant. I promised her I would take care of her and her baby until she met someone and married, and that even then, I'd be watching over them.

Only I'd failed. I wasn't there to protect Shannon or Kelly. I didn't even know Shannon was set to testify against a drug lord. My father had told me it wasn't my fault since I was on a tour of duty but that didn't remove the guilt. It only fueled the anger. I had come to love Shannon and Kelly deeply. Kelly, as if she were my own child and Shannon, because after Tom's death we'd become each other's tower of strength and confidante. Just as I'd kept nothing from Tom, Shannon became privy to all my secrets.

Never one for mincing words, she would cheerfully give me her opinion of the men I secretly dated. Not that there were many. Most were one-night stands, which I didn't bother to tell her about.

Shannon moved to DC after the birth of Kelly and lived not too far from me. I did offer to marry Shannon but she saw it for what it was - a gesture from a friend - so she turned me down.

"Jeth," she'd said. "It's really sweet of you and we love each other, but as friends. Besides, you're gay."

"I'm not."

"Bisexual, then. And you prefer men to women. You're sleeping with women now but one day, you'll stick to men only. So it's better we stay friends."

"I'm not gay," I argued but Shannon just smiled. End of discussion.

I continued to rent the place from Tom's aunt. She had married a wealthy guy and had no need for the rent money so she was happy to let me have it at the same amount that my share was when Tom was alive.

Shannon had asked me, one day, whether I was dating anyone regularly. I'd snorted. Like that was ever going to happen and told her so. "I'm a Marine, Shan. Do you really think I could go hand-holding another guy?" Except I had, but I couldn't tell her about Joe. Not until I needed her to take him into her home. I couldn't tell anyone. Marines did not want to fuck other men. Or boys. Definitely not boys.

"But there's someone out there for you, I can feel that," Shannon had insisted.

"Oh yeah?" I'd asked, amused at her. Shannon had always been a romantic and believed in a lot of things he didn't. "What else do you feel?"

"That he's tall and handsome, with a happy and sweet disposition," she'd replied. "Except when you're in danger. Then he changes and becomes hyperprotective."

I had laughed. "You sure you're not describing _your_ fantasy guy? And I keep telling you - I'm not gay."

And so our bantering often went. The closeness Shannon and I shared slowly eased the pain caused by Tom's death.

Whenever Shannon brought a date home - which wasn't often - I'd go over and introduce myself just to make sure the guy knew there was someone watching over her. Literally. On those occasions, I'd offer to babysit Kelly when I wasn't on offshore duty. When I was, Shannon's mom would come over to help. Now, Shannon was gone and the kid I'd come to love like my own was gone, too.

I wasn't just grieving. I was angry. And killing Hernandez hadn't alleviated the pain.

 

____________

**TBC**

____________


	5. PART TWO: GIBBS & TONY - CHAPTER 5

PART TWO - CHAPTER 5

**GIBBS & TONY**

 

 

_**Six Months Later** _

_**GIBBS' POV** _

For days, I been feeling extra-horny and wondered why. I'd looked for my usual hook-ups but even after three men in quick succession, the lust humming through me hadn't abated. I'd go home and jerk off in the shower, then again before dawn when my need seemed to be greatest. In the end, I'd arrange it so that I ended up with two or three men, fucking each one until way past sunrise and they booted me out of their house.

I tried women. Then men _and_ women. I still felt empty and dissatisfied.

I'd gone into a funk after burying Shannon and Kelly and wondered how I'd handle losing a spouse. As was to be expected, such thoughts led me to miss Joe and drove me deeper into my depression. Joe had been gone seven months now and I felt every day of that. To lose Shannon and Kelly one month after Joe took off had nearly sent me over the edge. I guess many would consider that I did after I killed Hernandez. I probably wouldn't argue about that.

As I drank my third Bourbon at the bar I frequented, the hunger was especially strong and I knew I'd need more than one man again. But what was the reason for this increased need for sex? It wasn't as if I was bored with vanilla and wanted something different, or more exciting. I wasn't interested in any of that BDSM shit or to make my sex partners bleed. I just needed a hole. Right now, _any_ hole. Which was why, when Matt, one of the guys I'd just fucked in the bar's toilet, invited me along to a party where there'd be plenty of cold beer and hot guys, I found myself readily accepting.

"No girls," Matt said. "I know you swing both ways and this one is just guys."

I shrugged. "Don't matter to me."

o     o     o **  
**

Matt drove us to one of those mansions at the end of a road off the George Washington Memorial Parkway.

 "A frat party?" I asked, giving Matt a wry look. "Not that I'm complaining. Just curious how you ended up getting invited. You gotta be at least thirty and that's old to a teen."

"It's all seniors," Matt replied. My cousin organized it and he knows the kid whose house it belongs to."

"Kid?"

"Okay, so he's sixteen. Pretend he's eighteen if you have to, but he's horny as hell so who cares? He'll probably have been fucked by everyone there by the time we arrive. There's also Drew whom we all fuck after we're too buzzed to know whose ass belongs to whom. And oh, before I forget  - it's strictly first names only and don't ask any personal questions. As far as everyone's concerned, this party never happened."

I nodded. "No argument from me."

The party was well on its way by the time we arrived and Matt was greeted with loud cheers, butt grabs and mouth-to-mouth kisses. There were several couples in various states of undress and copulation. Seeing them nearly undid me right there and then and if I didn't find someone in the next five minutes I'd be grabbing any one of those without an introduction. Not that that would bother me. I could always introduce myself later. Or not. But Matt had assured me this was what the party was for so I was optimistic this evening wouldn't be a bust.

A floppy-haired boy came grinning up to Matt and gave him a bear hug.

"Hey, Tony. This is Jethro," Matt said. "Be nice to him." He leaned in to whisper in Tony's ear, "Biggest cock in the Eastern seaboard. I just had me some and believe me, you won't want to miss it."

"Hi, Tony," I said, pretending I hadn't heard. "Thanks for letting me join your party."

Tony blushed but shrugged. "Not my party. I just loaned them the house for tonight."

"Hey, I'll leave you two to get it on. And, Tony," Matt whispered again in Tony's ear. "Jethro's horny as a pack of dogs in heat tonight so you'll have all the cock you want up that virgin ass of yours."

Tony went red from his neck up.

I felt sorry for the kid who was obviously embarrassed. He wasn't coming across like the teen slut Matt had made him out to be and I couldn't decide whether I was disappointed or not.

The kid was tall and gangly, with a thick mop of brown hair that nearly covered his eyes, making him look like a shaggy dog. It covered his ears, too, and I was itching to take a hair clipper and buzz it all off. Some guys looked hot with long hair but this kid looked like a throwback to the 70s era. His black-framed nerdy glasses and silver braces didn't help either.

There was also a huge zit on the tip of his nose that was so ready to burst, the top was creamy-yellow. I toyed, just for a moment, with the idea of looking for Drew instead but discarded the thought. It didn't matter. I knew the minute I walked out, I'd forget what zit boy looked like.

o     o     o

 "Look," I said to the kid. "I don't mean to be rude but I came here to get laid and you're a little below the age limit for my tastes." _Joe notwithstanding_. The thought of Joe brought a pang of emotion, a sense of loss, but I squashed it down.

"I'm not...not that young," the kid said. "I'm eighteen." My brow quirked. "Okay. Sixteen," the kid amended.

"I'm twenty-five and kids your age think that's old," I remarked.

"I'm different from other guys my age," Tony said, a stubborn set to his jaw.

I swept a palm over my Marine-issue high-and-tight. "Look, I don't care. Like I said...I'm here for the sex. Just plain ol' vanilla. Hard and fast. No S and M shit, no -"

"Alright, alright. You gonna talk all night or go to my room?" Tony asked.

I eyed him then. I was beginning to like this kid already. "Lead the way."

o     o     o **  
**

He led me through a suite of rooms on the first floor. We passed a baby grand in the lounge overlooking the river, then a large room with wall-to-wall mirrors that I could see were the wardrobe doors since a couple of panels were slid back to reveal drawers, shelves and rows of shirts and pants. I gave a derisive snort. It figured that people living in these riverside mansions would have color coordinated wardrobes.

"Bedroom's through here," Tony said, going through a doorway at the other end of the room.

"Get naked," I ordered, stripping off. My aching cock sprang out, the head dark with blood, thick veins ridging the length down to the root. "Stop staring at my cock and get those clothes off."

Tony remained rooted to the spot, still staring at my dick. "I-I..uhh, I always thought those monster cocks were fake. Y'know - those porn sites...I assumed those huge dicks were photoshopped onto the guy."

"Hey! We doing this or you just wanna stare at it?" I pulled the boy to me and hissed, "I warned you... _kid_. I seriously need a fuck _now_. But I don't want to hurt you, either, so if you've changed your mind, say so now." I paused as if some thought suddenly struck me. I thrust the boy away from me, picked up my clothes. "Damn!" I hissed angrily. "Coming here was a fucking mistake." I looked at Tony. "I'm sorry, kid. I'm outta here."

"No. Wait." Tony ran to him. "I really do want this."

"Listen, kid -"

"My name is Tony."

"Tony. You looked freaked, and desperate as I am for a fuck, I don't scare kids into giving me one. Hell, I don't do kids." _Not anymore_. I stood, ready to leave but Tony grabbed my arm.

"Please. I mean it, too," Tony said. "And I'm _not_ a kid. I just look younger than I am, that's all. It's my hair." He swiped his hair off his face but it fell back down again, almost covering half his face. He whipped off the nerdy glasses. "And my braces come off next month." He reached over and pressed a button on the nightstand and the drawer slid open. "I've got everything here. Condoms. Lube. Cuffs."

"Cuffs?"I growled. "Get real. I'm not cuffing you."

Tony gripped the bottom of his tee shirt and peeled it off to reveal a hard, young body. He removed his shorts. No underwear. Just bare, golden skin.

I let out a tortured moan. "Stop it," I growled.

"What's the problem?" Tony asked, his voice filled with uncertainty. "You just want a fuck. So do I. You think those guys downstairs are all over eighteen?" he snorted.

"Damn," I ground out. "You're really asking for it, aren't you?" I threw Tony over the bed, covering him with my own body. "This is gonna hurt," I said. "Even with lube. I'll -"

"It's okay," Tony hurriedly reassured me. "Just because I'm a virgin doesn't mean I'm one, technically-speaking."

"Matt wasn't kidding?" I asked, brows snapping together. "You've never done this before?"

"Uh..."

"Shit." I scrambled off the bed and started putting my clothes back on.

Tony sat up, his face scrunched up in disappointment.

I turned to look at him. "I'm really sorry, okay? But you're just a kid and while you're not jailbait, you've not been fucked before." A part of me didn't care. That part just needed the fuck, but another part _did_ care that I would injure the virgin ass and I didn't want that, no matter how horny I was. "Look, kid -

"Tony. My name is Tony."

I blew out an exasperated breath. "Tony. Just get dressed and join the party. Find another guy to do you."

Tony remained sitting on the bed, eyes blinking away the disappointment of defeat.

"What's the matter? You sulking because I won't fuck you?" I snorted in annoyance. "Unbelievable."

"I've been using a dildo every night for six months now."  The words was almost a whisper. "Just to prep myself for tonight. For you."

"For me? You don't even know me. We just met five minutes ago."

"Matt's told me about you," Tony said. "And I've wanted you since then. I wanted my first time to be with you. So I've been getting myself ready."

 

____________

**TBC**

____________


	6. PART TWO: GIBBS & TONY - CHAPTER 6

PART TWO - CHAPTER 6

**GIBBS & TONY**

 

 

**GIBBS' POV**

I didn't know if the kid - Tony - was serious or not but the image of him inserting a dildo up his ass had me nearly coming. _Fuck!_ What the hell was wrong with me? I've never been this horny.

I heaved a sigh and squeezed my eyes shut as I undid his pants a second time.  "Lie on your left side. Back to me. That how you insert your dildo?" I wondered, for the umpteenth time, how I got myself in this fix followed by the overwhelming urge to punch Matt. I didn't do virgins. It's sex to me and I've had lost count of the men i've fucked but this kid was an ass virgin. It was never meaningless to first-timers, even guys. Especially gay ones. Except me, I guess. I can hardly recall my first time but I'd always been the odd one out. Besides, the last thing I needed was some kid following me around thinking he was in love or some such shit.

"Yes, it's easier for me to reach round when I'm laying on my side." Tony nodded his head enthusiastically. "And I bought the biggest dildo I could find so I'm sure it'll be fine. You wanna see it?"

"No." I pushed Tony's head back down on the pillow. On second thoughts, maybe this kid was too stupid to do want more. "Uhh, sorry, kid, but this isn't the time for foreplay so I'm just going to...do it."

"Thank you. About bloody time." Tony turned and reached for the lube and condoms.

My earlier ambivalence had dissipated and my cock jerked at the prospect of relief. I took the lube off Tony, smacking his hand away when Tony reached for his cock. "Turn back. Don't touch yourself until I say I say you can."

"I thought you said you weren't into S & M," Tony snickered.

"That includes no talking," I snapped. "Not a word out of you until this is over, you hear? And we do this my way or not at all."

"Huh. Like you gonna walk out now?" Tony said, looking around. "Look at your cock. It's leaking so much I might have to go get a bucket."I smacked the back of Tony's head.

" _Ow!_ Okay. Jeez." Tony grumbled but shut up after that.

I sheathed myself and slathered my cock with a liberal amount of lube before lifting Tony's leg up. I tested his anus with a well-lubed finger and frowned in concentration as I pressed against the puckered entrance. My finger slid in easily after the initial resistance. The kid wasn't kidding.  He _had_ been getting his ass ready. Maybe this wouldn't turn out so bad after all.

Tony was breathing hard but no less than I was as I applied a generous amount of lube into his hole then slid two, then three fingers into him.

Satisfied Tony would be able to take me if I started slow and easy, I spooned my body against him. With just the kid's back to me, it wasn't difficult for me to forget the body was that of a sixteen year-old's and with that thick brown mop covering half his face, I couldn't even see what the kid looked like.

"Fold your leg up," I told Tony. Keeping a tight rein on my self-control, I nudged the entrance of Tony's ass with my cock, telling myself not to thrust, to ease my way in and ease out.

Tony's ass seemed to have a mind of its own, though, because it sucked my cock in the moment my cockhead breached the tight rim. I let out a long, tortured-sounding moan and thrust into him. I heard some unintelligible sound that sounded like a...wolf? No, not a wolf but similar. Momentarily distracted, I slowed my thrusts and distinctly heard a _woo-woo-oo_ sound coming from Tony's mouth. His mouth was open and his hips were still thrusting back against me, urging me to resume fucking.

"Why you stopping?" Tony asked.

"You okay?" I asked. "You sounded like you were in pain."

"No, feel awesome. Feels like I've been waiting for this my whole life."

I thrust in once more, sinking into his body. His tight hole hugged my cock and I let out a groan of pleasure.

Slowly, I moved, impressed and surprised at myself that I was able to temper my need. I had never been this solicitous with my other lovers and it afforded me some amusement that it would be a nerdy-looking teenager who would bring out this considerate side in me.

Considerate or not, Tony was was thrusting back enthusiastically at me, forcing my cock to go deeper than _I_ had dared to.

"Come on, Jethro," the boy panted. "Go deeper. Harder. I can take it."

This time I didn't argue. I pulled out and ordered Tony to turn onto his back. I re-entered him in a single smooth stroke as Tony wrapped his legs around my waist.

With a loud groan, I pumped away with a force that had the bed's headboard slamming against the wall. My balls slapped against Tony's ass and even the woo-woo sounds coming from him didn't distract me, weird as they were.

Thrust after thrust, I ravaged Tony's ass until the kid cried out that he was coming. Without even touching his cock, Tony spilled his hot semen in spurts that seemed to go on endlessly.

 _How much come did the kid have in him? A bellyful?_ Yet seconds later, it was my turn and I gripped Tony's hips hard enough to leave bruises, for sure. My orgasm was so intense, I thought I'd blacked out for a moment. Sex had always been good but this - this one...with this kid...it threw me off. A strange pull went through me, the sensation of something tugging me...as if I were water going down the sink...down a tunnel...then I whooshed out and my body erupted, the orgasm drawing out a harsh cry from me.

What the hell happened?

A long while later, or so it seemed, I rolled off Tony and we lay side by side, Tony's arm flung over my chest. Did I really black out? Nah. It was just the best orgasm I'd ever had, is all.

Tony scooted nearer, throwing a leg over me. He made nuzzling sounds as he burrowed his face in the crook of my shoulder. Again, I heard the woo-woo sounds, but soft this time. The boy sure made some strange noises.

I looked down at the messy mop and smiled. This was a first for him, too. All his previous fucks had been fast and good, then _adiós_. Sayonara. Au Revoir.

As I looked down at the boy and Mophead looked up, I felt a distinct urge to kiss those lips. I was not a cuddler yet I felt no urge to disengage myself from Tony - who clearly _was_ a cuddler.

"You hungry?" Tony said, breaking the spell he wasn't aware he'd cast on me. Odd as that sounds, it was how I felt about the kid. I didn't even know him yet one orgasm later and here I was, feeling as if I'd known him for years.

"I could eat," I replied, still thinking about the strange sense of bonding I felt with this odd-looking kid.

"Wait here," Tony said, getting off the bed and into his shorts.

"I'll go down with you. You don't have to bring it up," I said, getting up and reaching for my pants.

"I don't mind."

"You're not a waiter and this isn't a hotel. We'll go down together."

"No, stay here. I thought it would be nice to eat up here, away from the drunk and disorderly. If you go down I'll never get you back. And I was thinking I'd serve you dessert in bed." Tony winked.

I stopped at that, then grinned. "You're a smart one, Mophead."

"What did you call me?"

"Go. Get moving before all the food's gone."

 

o     o     o

 

Tony wheeled a trolley laden with fried chicken, steaks, calamari rings, corn-on-the-cob and crabcakes. A six-pack of beer and cans of Dr Pepper completed the ensemble.

"Quite a feast you got there," I said. "Where are your parents?"

"Europe somewhere," Tony replied. "My mom's on tour - she's a concert violinist - and Dad accompanies her when he can."

"When will they be back?" I asked as we started on our meal, wondering why I was still here.

"I don't know. A month's time, maybe?"

"Good. They won't be happy arriving home to an after-party mess."

 "No need to worry. The guys from Party Poopers Inc will be coming round later. They'll clear everyone out, assess the clean-up situation and send in the cleaning service."

"‘Party Poopers Inc'?"

"Yeah. Never heard of them?"

I shook my head.

"They are professional cleaners that specialize in parties. All kinds. From kids' birthdays, frat parties, to weddings. They get your home back into order so you don't have to worry about it. You should try them sometime."

"I doubt it."

"Why not?"

"I don't hold parties."

"So, what do you do?" Tony asked, glancing at my hair. Waving at it with a chicken drumstick, he said. "Sailor boy?"

"Marine," I replied, asking myself what the hell I was doing - still here instead of taking off. And talking to the kid.

"So you on shore leave?"

"No," I replied. "Left the Navy earlier this year."

"So what do you do now?"

I was planning to pay Mike Franks over at NCIS a visit and try to convince him to take me on as a special agent but replied, "Nothing yet." I'd met Mike when he was investigating a petty officer's death and had been assigned to assist him during the investigation. He was impressed enough with me to offer me a job at NCIS should I ever decide to leave the Navy.

"Just bumming around, huh? You can hang out with me, if you like. Stay the weekend."

I looked the boy quizzically. "Do you do this often? Invite strangers to stay at the drop of a hat?"

Tony grinned, not answering the question. "Usually I go away to Europe for summer but Dad told me he wanted me to stay in the US this year since I would be starting college soon. He knows once I hit Europe I'd be late getting home in time for the first class." He grinned at me. "I love Europe, especially the Alps."

"Won't Dad be pissed off if he decided to come home and found a strange guy living in his house? Fucking his teenage son?"

"My dad knows I'm gay. He doesn't care one way or another. Just wants me to finish school, get a decent job, don't do drugs, don't end up in jail. You know - run-o-the-mill stuff. Oh, and don't trash the house or leave evidence of sexual activity around for the staff to clean up."

"Reasonable," I murmured. "Guess the Party Poopers do that."

Tony nodded. "So you'll stay?" When I hesitated, Tony said, "Tonight, at least. Then tomorrow we have a late breakfast and decide what to do for the rest of the day."

I smiled at the happily optimistic look on the boy's face and wondered if I ever looked like that. If I did, it was a very long time ago. "Sounds good to me," I replied, to my own utter surprise.

I was feeling strange. All kinds of sensations swirling around in me. What the hell was happening to me? I'm hardly ever sick. Maybe I was getting one of those childhood diseases that all kids are supposed to get, but I never did. Dad had told me it was okay and that it must be some family genetics or something because he didn't get them when he was a kid. I just hope it was simply that orgasm that was causing those weird sensations in my body though when that blinding orgasm had shuddered through my body, what I'd felt was the kick of the rifle and the taste and smell of satisfaction as Hernandez's head burst like a ripe watermelon. I'd felt as if a part of me had split off - as if part of my body was here, hypersensitive to the overwhelming climax and another part was somewhere else; in a faraway place where voices called out to me. No, not voices. Howls. Similar to the ones Mophead was making but not quite the same.

"We should change the sheets," Tony said. "It's got my cum on it. I'm not sleeping on the wet spot and I don't think you want to either."

"Can I take a shower?" I asked. "My dick's sticky."

"So's mine," Tony said. "Let's save my dad some money and shower together."

o     o     o

Tony's shower was bigger than my bedroom, all glass and gun-metal gray stone. The toilet had its own enclosure and the shower stall could fit five men easily. The shower sprays were remote-controlled and nozzles from the wall shot out sprays of hot water.

"Be my guest." Tony opened the door and gestured for me to enter.

No sooner than Tony followed me in than I spun him round to face the wall, shoving him against it so close he was plastered against it.

"Stay." I ordered. I shut off a few of the sprays and squatted down behind Tony. "Spread your legs. Wide." Tony obeyed. "Push your ass out."

Tony's breath hitched and he let out a gasp when I spread his ass cheeks apart to expose his hole. He reached down to grasp his cock but I caught his wrist in a iron grip.

"Hands on the wall," I growled. "No touching me or yourself while I eat this hot ass of yours."

I smoothed one palm over Tony's hard, slippery ass cheek while my other palm ran up and down his hip and thigh before slipping between his legs to cradle the balls. I played with the soft globes leisurely as I laved the cheeks with my tongue.

"Oh yeah, Jethro!" Tony rasped, as my warm tongue lapped at his hole. "God, that feels amazing." Tony pushed his ass out further, a clear invitation which I took up readily. "Aahhh! Gawd..." then the woo-woo sounds again as my tongue pushed through the tight ring and I pressed my face against his anus, burrowing my tongue in as far as it could go.

In and out, I tongue-fucked Tony. Lick. Stab. Lick. Slurp. Stab.

Then a hard sucking motion against the pucker which drove Tony insane. That itself was odd. I'd not tongue-fucked anyone before, except Joe. Not even after Joe left me and I found release with others did I ever have the urge to lick them. _Any_ where, much less their buttholes. What was so different about these two kids? Can't be them. Must be me. I'm a latent pervert.

"Fuck me!" Tony said loudly. "Now. Please." He thrust his ass further out. "Please, can I move my hands? I just wanna spread myself."

"Do it," I ordered. Self-examination could be done another day.

Tony's fingers spread his cheeks as wide as he could and my tongue stabbed the glistening hole again. It had the most amazing scent. Even Joe's hole, delicious as it was, wasn't like Tony's. Different flavors, the two of them. Yet loving the taste and smell of Tony just made me miss Joe even more.

"Condom," Tony hissed, breaking into my thoughts. "Top drawer under the sink."

I stepped out of the cubicle  and snagged a box from the drawer, suiting myself up.

I looked at the young, ripped body splayed out against the shower wall. Tony turned and I looked into those sea-green eyes that were soft with wonder and felt a tug within me. Not lust. That, I already felt. More a pang in my chest and gut. And somewhere deep in me that I can't physically locate.

"Jethro?"

Right here." I shook off the strange sensations. "Right here. Now turn around and give me that ass. "

o     o     o

 

I carried Tony into the bedroom and put him down on the bed. I'd fucked him in the shower until his legs couldn't hold up anymore, yet I still hadn't had my fill.

I still wanted him, wanted to pump my cum deep into him and that startled me. I'd never gone without protection and with my penchant for no-strings sex and one-nighters, there was no way I was dispensing with the latex shield. Then why this acute need to fuck Tony bareback?

I shrugged off the thought and covered Tony's freshly-washed body with my own. Chest-to-chest, groin-to-groin, we lay. Tony's cock was semi-hard, having already come in the shower. Mine was still rock-hard and I was more than ready for another round.

But instead of fucking him again, I was studying his face. It could be a nice-looking face one day, I thought. He had a lovely mouth - strong, defined lips that were masculine yet soft at the same time. Those green-blue eyes that seemed to change hues from moment to moment - pure green one minute, green-gray the next. Hazel at others. And when he was filled with need, they'd go dark like a moonlit jungle in the night.

"How old did you say you were?" Tony asked, his arms looped around me.

"Thirty."

"Thirty!" Tony gave a loud huff. "I don't think your cock knows that. It thinks it's 16, too. And I can't even get it up as fast as you."

"Your fault," I said, putting on another condom and applying more lube into him.

"My fault? Why - ahh! Oh, shit. I swear you've grown bigger since the last fuck - five minutes ago."

I slid into him easily this time then leaned down and kissed him. I kept the kiss going as I continued pumping my hips. Where the earlier sessions had been fast and rough, now I slowed a little, allowing my full senses to savor the feel of being inside him. He, likewise, was flushed with passion as I thrust into him relentlessly, his cries only spurring me on.

I didn't know how or why, but I knew that one day I would make love again to this boy. He would not be a boy by then but I knew - could sense it with my whole being - that we would meet again. Of course, that implied I also knew I would leave as soon as our desire was sated.

"Uhhhh....that feels SO good..." Tony's voice rasped out.

I saw him reach for his cell phone and his fingers flying over the screen.

"You texting NOW?" I growled, but the bedroom lights went out, plunging us into darkness. Music came on and light patterns of blue hues swirled around the room.

"Just putting on some ambience," Tony replied.

 To my surprise, the music wasn't the dance club technocrap, or whatever they call it but a slow, sultry saxophone jazz. Odd genre for a sixteen year old to have but I wasn't complaining.

As I made long, slow love to Tony, staying inside him, sheathed by his heat, I felt this was how I was meant to be. With this kid. Nevermind what the morning brought. Tonight, right now, here was where home was - with this boy I'd met only hours ago yet hungered for as I'd never hungered. Not for food, not for air, not for anything.

"Tony..." I whispered against his lips.

"Hmm?" Tony's eyes flickered open.

I sighed. "Tony." And kissed the eyes closed again.

Why did my heart ache? I hadn't known this kid until earlier tonight; hadn't even wanted to fuck him. Yet as another climax overtook me, I cried out Tony's name again and again. This time, I didn't fight the strange pulling sensation but went willingly down into that tunnel where nothing mattered but how this boy was possessing me so completely. When my orgasm finally faded away, my chest felt like a boulder had slammed into it. I clutched at Tony as if afraid to let him go.

We fell asleep after that, too exhausted and sated to bother changing the sheets. Tony had barely enough energy to grab his shorts and tee shirt to lay over the damp patches.

o     o     o

Sometime during the night, the music had stopped and so had the swirly lights. I awoke to see the faint rays of the morning sun peeking through the slatted blinds. Tony was still fast asleep beside me, one arm flung over my chest. His hair had completely covered the top half of his face. He looked very young. Too young.

Shit.

He roused a minute later, as if he'd sensed I was awake. "Hey." he smiled sleepily.

"I'd better get going." I moved off the bed but Tony stopped me.

"You don't have to. I told you my parents are away and won't be back for another six weeks. You're welcome to stay on. I mean...if you want to."

I laughed as I padded to the bathroom. "I can't stay here for six weeks."

"Just a few days then. Do you have to be anywhere?" Tony scrambled after me.

"I've got to look for a job, and I do have my own home."

"I didn't mean it that way - like you don't have a home of your own. I just thought you might want to hang out some more. You can still go do what you need to do but we could get together when you're done."

"Don't you have school?" I asked as I stepped into the shower.

"Nope. I start college in the Fall."

"So what were you planning to do till then?"

Tony shrugged, getting into the shower stall with me, toothbrush in hand. He passed me a new one, still in its wrapper. "I was thinking of taking a road trip. Drive down to Florida or something. Haven't fixed anything. We can do that together. Doesn't have to be Florida. We could just go wherever we feel like."

That sounded pretty good to me, actually. I didn't have to get a job right away. I had enough money saved up to last me a year without working so I could afford to take a few months off.

"I can do that," I said. "Provided you don't expect me to put you up in five-star hotels."

"We could always hire a motorhome," Tony suggested, eyes sparkling. "Will be cheaper than a hotel and we can come and go as we please."

And that was what we did.

o     o     o

I ought to have known better than to listen to a sixteen year old, but since I was already stupid enough to fuck one, I guess I deserved the interminable road trip. First, Tony chattered non-stop for two hours out of DC until I couldn't stand it anymore and told him to give it a rest.

"Just one hour," I said. "One fucking hour just STOP TALKING."

"But there's so much I wanna tell you...share my wide-eyed wonder!"

"We're in DC, not Botswana. You jabber like this all the way to Miami and I'm turning around."

"Stop and let me buy something to eat, the. That'll keep me quiet for awhile."

We stopped at Richmond and Tony returned to the vehicle armed with fried chicken, milk shakes and bags of chips. We already had a carton of bottled water and coffee grounds for me since the motorhome had a kitchenette with the basic appliances.

To give him credit, Tony did manage to stay silent for exactly sixty-two minutes, after which he announced, "I think this road trip was a bad idea."

I gave him an eye roll.

"I mean, it's nice being on the road with you. Even if you don't like me talking..."

"I don't mind you talking." I countered. "Just not non-stop."

"Okay. I understand. Anyway. That's not what I meant."

"What, then? You don't like my driving?"

"Uhh...no. No, it's fine. It's the trip itself. Boring, is what I'm trying to say. It's just miles and miles of the same-looking scenery. Miles and miles of road with the same old billboards. warehouses and fast food outlets."

"Hey, this was _your_ idea."

"Yeah, well, you should know better than to listen to a sixteen year old." He winked at me. I ignored that bit of truism and kept my eyes on the road.

In the end, the road trip proved to be a whole lot more pleasurable than I was expecting, mainly due to Tony's insatiable need for sex - which matched mine. He was also extremely good-natured and easy to please - a useful contrast to my frequent short-temperedness and just plain ol' orneriness.

We dropped the motorhome off at Miami at the end of the three weeks and flew home to DC. By then, I'd gotten used to having Tony around and had to admit to myself that I thought of him as a replacement for Joe. Well, not exactly since they are both very different in personality and background. Perhaps it's the age thing - both of them being in their teens. Their youth is certainly one reason why I held back with Tony. Joe was two years older than Tony and he'd run out on me. I give Tony a few days. Then he'd be gone, too.

 

\-------------

**TBC**

\-------------


	7. PART TWO: GIBBS & TONY - CHAPTER 7

** PART TWO - CHAPTER 7 **

**GIBBS & TONY**

 

 

**GIBBS' POV**

Something woke me up. My eyes flew open but there was no one in the room. The music was still playing. Tony was sleeping soundly, a pillow clutched between his legs.

I got out of bed and padded to the bathroom, still groggy with sleep. The night lights came on gently and the small display clock showed 4.55am. My head felt funny. My whole body felt odd. I wasn't drunk, that I knew, for sure. I had a high tolerance for alcohol so I never needed to worry. When we arrived back in DC yesterday, Tony had asked me to stay the night and since it was already late, I did, planning to go home after breakfast. Much as I enjoyed my three-week break, I was impatient to get employed again and planned to give Mike Franks a call in the morning, hoping his offer was still open.

My joints ached and I heard soft popping sounds as I walked. There was an urinal in Tony's bathroom and decided to use that instead of the toilet bowl. It was unusual to find one in a private home but a good idea, remembering how I hated washing sticky urine splatters from toilet seats and the floor as a recruit. I took my cock in hand, looked down and jumped away with a muffled yell.

I had fur on my forearms. Not hair. _Fur_! Like a dog.

Fur on my legs, too. I still had fingers and toes, though. Rushing to the mirror, I blinked at the reflection staring back at me. _FUR!_ I had a furry beard down the sides of my face and jaw, leaving my chin bare. I looked like that comic book hero, Wolverine, played some Aussie actor whose name I can't remember. I quickly checked my hands in case there were steel blades hidden in them. Nothing. Still my regular hands with its calluses and short nails.

My chest and the rest of my body was also covered in that blackish-silver fur. My pubic hair had been replaced by fur but at least my cock was fur-less. The muscles on my body and limbs were bulging. I'd always been fit and had a nice set of abs but now I looked like I pumped iron on a daily basis. I rushed to the mirror.

My hair! I was sporting a head of thick, white hair with a grey-black streak down the middle and black fur growing down to the tip of my nose like a dog's snout.

What. The. Hell. I stood there in front of the bathroom mirror, my full bladder forgotten. Did Tony slip something in the beer last night? I doubted it because he didn't do drugs, he'd told me, and during the three weeks we were together, he didn't even get drunk. I was about to wake him to see if he was seeing the same thing I was about me when a voice stopped me.

_Leroy. It's time to go._

Huh? Dad? I looked around the bathroom, wondering what the hell was happening.

Then again, _Leroy. Time to move, son. Go to the window. It's open. Jump out. We're waiting for you. Hurry._

Why was I hearing my father's voice in my head?

_Move it, son. Go to the window and jump._

Yeah, right. Still, I went. Out of curiosity, I guess. Tony was still fast asleep. I looked out the window and under the light of the full moon, saw my father emerging from the shrubbery to stand below the window. Behind him were three other men. I opened the window and leaned out.

_‘Jump, Leroy. It's going to be sun up soon.'_ My father's voice floated up as if disembodied. ‘ _The Council's waiting'._

"Dad!" I hissed, hoping Tony wouldn't be woken up. "What the hell is going on?"

_Jump, Leroy. That's an order, son._

I climbed up and sat on the sill, calculating the odds of me landing on the lawn without breaking my legs. It could be done, I guessed. I was only on the second floor. Then I remembered I no longer had hands and feet. I glanced down at my paws.

_Fuck._

I leapt off the window sill.

o     o     o 

I wasn't falling. I was soaring. Not quite like a bird. More like...a leaping animal. A very huge, very powerful animal, taking a flying leap. I landed smoothly; lightly, as if I had suspension springs built into my joints. The three men who were with Dad fell to the ground, prostrating themselves, causing me to duck as well, thinking someone was firing at us.

"Nice leap of faith," Dad said. He saw me staring at the men who were on their hands and knees in front of me, heads bowed down. "Don't worry about them. They'll explain everything to you."

I heard my father normally, his voice no longer in my head and I saw that my fur and paws were gone. I was back to normal, too.

 "What's going on, Dad? Something weird's happening..."

"We have to leave, Leroy. Now."

"But Dad..."

"Mr. Gibbs," one of the men said to my father as they got up on their feet. "We must leave before the staff awakes. And the boy."

Jackson nodded. "I know."

I looked between the men and my father. "Dad, I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's going on.

"Leroy." Jackson sighed. "Come on. I"ll tell you as we walk."

"Wait." I looked up at the window. To Tony's room. "I have to say goodbye to a friend, first."

My father shook his head. "No, son. We have to go."

I gave Tony's room one last look, telling myself I'd give him a call later.

 

\-----------

**TBC**

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	8. PART TWO: GIBBS & TONY - CHAPTER 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter posting for this week but I'll post a couple more chapters next weekend.
> 
> This chapter gives us a glimpse of Tony's teenage years; the young man who grew up to become a secret agent.

PART TWO - CHAPTER 8

**GIBBS & TONY**

 

 

 

**TONY'S POV**

I stirred and groaned softly, my ass ached deliciously as the memory of the unrestrained sex filtered in to my half-asleep brain. In my human form, waking is a torturous process. I love taking my time, rolling, burrowing, alternatively stretching and curling up in bed, on my Egyptian cotton sheets. Not those department store rubbish but thousand-threadcount sateen weave sheets manufactured by our 300 year-old family mill in Italy.

The same sheets I'm curled on now. One would think I was a cat shifter instead a malamute. I stretched once more and gave a low, long drawn-out ‘woo-woo', the funny howl-like sound Malamutes make.

I stretched and gave another low, happy woo-woo. I turned to look at the gorgeous man who'd made my first-time such an incredible experience but the other side of the bed was empty. Then I saw the bathroom light was on and resumed my bed-snuggling. Hopefully, Gorgeous would come out ready to take me to paradise again.

I stretched and gave a low, happy woo-woo. I turned to look at the gorgeous man who'd made my first-time such an incredible experience but the other side of the bed was empty. Then I saw the bathroom light was on and went back to my bed-snuggling. Hopefully, Gorgeous would come out ready to take me to paradise again.

What a difference a day made, indeed. Just twenty-four hours ago, I was a misfit to beat all misfits. First, I wasn't one of the popular boys at school. I was one of the nerds. I was a grade A student but all the kids went for the dumb jocks. There were smart jocks, too, but they were so in demand  a dorky-looking kid like me didn't stand a chance.

I've dated but only the girls who didn't care one way or another what their date looked like as long as they had one to take to the party. They made fun of my hair, my spectacles and my lack of fashion sense but come Prom Night and I had at least six girls asking me to be their date.  It didn't bother me that I was in demand only because all the hot guys were taken. One day, I would be hot, too. Might take a bit of work but hell, I knew I could do it. Eventually.

o     o     o

As a malawere, my sex education included advice that human kids never got - like I could fuck a human but long-term sexual relationships with them were to be considered with much caution for obvious reasons. While humans and malamutes have had a mutually-beneficial relationship going back thousands of years, having your pet malamute turn into a human is quite another issue altogether. There are documented reports of male malamutes being shot dead after the husband found the dog, in human form, in his wife's bed.

Any encounter with a human that lasted longer than a weekend were not recommended, either, unless you already had full control of your shifting abilities. Malaweres, as we are called, reach our first shiftday on our 13th birthday but it takes a year, at least, before we gain full control of the shifting process and can shift at will. I was - still am - considered unique amongst malaweres in that I gained full control of my shifting within six months instead of the usual twelve. My father took me to see the Seer - some prophet or wizard - who told me I had a special mission in life. I suspected he probably said that to every parent who brought their kid to see him but I didn't say that out loud, of course. I don't believe in all that magic or spiritual mumbo jumbo but why court trouble? The old buzzard might just get lucky and turn me into a creepy crawly shifter. I would hate to be turned into a spider shifter even though I don't know if there are such things.

Anyway, the Seer had some prophecy concerning me. I'm supposed to be the catalyst to bring about the unification of the shifter and vampire kingdoms. Whatever that meant.

I know Dad had been shocked to the core and when he came home and told Mom, she'd looked at me as she couldn't believe she'd given birth to me. Then she'd pulled me to her and hugged me so tightly I started coughing and choking.

Dad explained to me later, why what the Seer said was so special. Apparently, the day would come when shifters would no longer view vampires with suspicion and wariness. Wolf and malamute shifters don't have a high opinion of the other. Wolf shifters call us names like ‘pussy-weres' but no one can deny we are super-adorable before our adulthood. A malawere may grow up be an ugly sonofabitch human but when he begins his shifting on his 13th birthday, he's like a regular malamute puppy - cute and irresistibly adorable. I know I could get away with anything when I was in my malamute puppy stage. The women just fell over themselves trying to cuddle me and when I got to near-adult size around my 15-16th human birthday they still loved my goofy ways even though I towered over them when I stood on my hind legs. It was when the guys played with me that I started to realize I felt differently towards males.

Not only was I able to shift at will earlier than any other malawere known, I turned out to be the biggest, meanest-looking brute as well. For the first five seconds, that is. After that, if you know malamutes at all, you'd know I was a gentle giant; playful and sociable. I may have been a handsome dog, literally, but my good looks, for some reason, had not been brought over to my human side. As a result, my early teen years weren't exactly a great time in my life. Thankfully, though, I had great cousins, and a lot of them. They were my best friends in junior and high school. None of them know about Jethro, though I couldn't explain why I kept him a secret. Malawere love to kiss and tell.

Like all malaweres, mine is a happy family. My parents adore me. Both of them come from very distinguished pedigrees whose ancestry can be traced back tens of thousands of years before the first malamutes crossed over to the New World.

Dad's forefathers eventually settled in Italy while Mom's ended up in Great Britain. Both sides are very wealthy with both current heads of the family (Dad and Uncle Clive) in the world's top ten billionaires list. Because of this my parents count several vampires among their friends, something unusual amongst shifters. My Dad is also the leader of the malaweres, worldwide.

Unlike wolf shifters, malaweres live elegant, tasteful, upper-class lives. We're similar to vampires in this respect. Even malaweres who are not rich live genteel lives, their wealth coming from an appreciation of natural beauty and relationships. We are warm and generous, gregarious and love parties. Many New Agers are malaweres and they form the majority of Swarovski's clientele. So the next time you see someone wearing Swarovski jewelry, he or she's very likely a malawere.

Normally, whenever my parents held a party - whether an all-shifter affair, or mixed (and sometimes my family were the only non-humans), I would be right there socializing with our friends and business associates. It is only this party, the one tonight for the frat brothers, that I did not join in. There's a reason for that.

Matt's cousin, Phil, whom I knew though he was older than me, showed me a photo of Jethro over a year ago. Then Phil took me to a football game Jethro was playing in. He was the quarterback and when he ran the 26 yards to the winning touchdown, he became my hero. I wasn't even a football fan.

As far as I knew, Jethro wasn't a shifter. Nor did I know if he was gay but in my fantasies he was both. Not just any shifter, but a malawere, of course. The last thing I wanted was for my fantasy man to turn out to be a wolf shifter. Even a vampire was preferable to a wolf but one had to be a malawere to fully understand why.

 Anyway, when Phil was talking to Matt about organizing the frat party, I overheard Matt saying Jethro was great in the sack, I nearly shifted and howled right there and then. Matt was bonking _The_ Leroy Jethro Gibbs? The star of my teen fantasies? I had not known envy until then, I swear.

There and then I decided Jethro was going to be my first. Of course, I had no idea if he would pick me but if he'd fucked Matt, I probably stood a good chance. I may be odd-looking but I was young and I had a good body. Then Phil spotted me and called me over, telling Matt about my Jethro fantasy. I wanted to kill him for telling Matt but Matt, being the nice guy he is (even if he's not a malawere but just a human), had assured me he could hook me up with Jethro.

That was great, except I knew once I'd had Jethro, there would be no one else for me, and when he left to go to some other guy - or guys - it would hurt.

Because malaweres mate for life. Until we meet our mate and are mated, malawere sex lives are no different from any virile male, whether human or not. Regular sex is encouraged so it is very odd of me to have stayed a virgin just for Jethro. I can't explain why I feel this way about him but I know he's not a casual fuck even if I have to treat him like one. For now.

What does that mean, ‘ _for now_ '?

I don't know.

Anyway, once malaweres are mated, we do not take another mate until the other dies, unlike wolf shifters who are known to be polygamous. Like wolf shifters, we live for hundreds of years but unlike us, wolf shifters are combative, competitive and possessive. They also do not believe in sexual equality. The alpha can have a harem but the females aren't allowed to have lovers. It's the same with the gay packs. Sexual discrimination and monogamy are not their strong suit though I have heard of wolf shifters who mate for life and are monogamous. They are the exception, obviously.

As shifters, we have no worries about the sexual diseases humankind are vulnerable to though we still suit up if we're having sex with a human since we can't very well explain why. This, understandably, leads to a lack of restraint, especially with the wolf shifters. They are known to love orgies, barebacking each other without worry. That's not to say malaweres are moralistic, pompous asses who don't know how to have fun. We fuck as much as the next wolf but unlike them, we are driven more by the emotional and psychological fulfillment of a relationship, even if it is a casual one and fuck buddies remain friends for life, long after the sex ends.

Additionally, unlike malaweres, the wolf shifters do not have a positive attitude towards gay weres. I have heard of wolf shifters attacking gay shifters, even killing them, though it is a criminal offense to do so. As such, gay wolf shifters - if they even dared to come out - stick together, forming their own packs with a gay Alpha. This is rare, though, and from what I've heard, there're only one or two such packs.

The wolf shifter kingdom also has a more complex governing hierarchy than malaweres. We just generally want to be left alone to enjoy life and be productive citizens, both in our world and that of humans so we don't need much management and oppression never works with us. Logic and reasoning, however, works wonders.

Not so with the wolf shifters. When they are good, they are to be admired and respected but the bad ones are to be avoided at all costs. There are several wolf shifter gangbangers all over the US and they are the bane of the wolf shifter authorities as the shifter gangbangers' activities tend to bring unwanted human attention. As such, the wolf shifters have deputy alphas in addition to the top dog and they have local packs as well as state packs who report to the quadrant leader. They have frequent council meetings to monitor pack problems and send out enforcer shifters to control problem shifters.

Dad told me there are many wolf shifters in law enforcement and the military, the majority of them law-abiding, upright citizens. It is these who have been urging their leaders to control the gangbangers. Apparently, there has been a rise in lawlessless among the packs in the four quadrants and even the other shifter communities are getting concerned.

So far, the majority of humans do not believe in the existence of shifters. We are merely the product of fiction writers, as far as humans are concerned, and that's how we prefer it. I know we have allies in the human world and they work covertly with us to make sure good shifters are strategically-placed in every sector of society. It is a symbiotic relationship that has existed for hundreds of years.

o     o     o 

I gave another long stretch and wondered what Jethro would like to do today. Matt hadn't told me much about him because all they did was fuck, he'd said. They weren't friends. This, of course, is alien to me. I can't imagine not wanting to be friends with someone I enjoy sex with. But I had to bear in mind Jethro was a human so I couldn't apply our customs and my personal preferences to him.

Speaking of which, the guy was taking an awful long time in the bathroom. I looked at the clock. Six ten a.m.

"Jethro?" I padded to the bathroom. Like most of today's designs, my bathroom had no door but was separated by a short L-shaped passage. "You okay there?" No answer. No one in the shower. I went to the toilet and knocked on the frosted glass. No response there, either. I pushed at the door and it opened to reveal an empty cubicle.

I hurriedly dressed, ran down the stairs and unlocked the door to the ground level. The Party Poopers were just arriving for the clean-up but, to my surprise, all the party guests had left. Even Matt and Phil.

Unfinished food was on the table but no sign of life. Mrs. Allegretti, our housekeeper, should be arriving soon, though.

Jethro wasn't in the kitchen or in any of the rooms downstairs. I checked in the conservatory, a replica of the one in our English manor but he wasn't there either. Nor was he having a swim as I could see the pool from the conservatory.

Half an hour later I had to accept the fact that Jethro had gone. The disappointment weighed heavily in my chest as if hung off my heart by a hook. The pain was sharp and constant. For the rest of the day I locked myself in my bedroom, telling Mrs. Allegretti I did not want to be disturbed and would ring if I was hungry.

I paced around my bedroom, dejected that Jethro had taken off without a word. What made him change his mind about staying the weekend? Was I that bad a fuck? He'd seemed happy enough during the three weeks with me and only headslapped me twice because I was talking too much.

I went to my bedroom window, only realizing as I stood there that it was open. That was odd. Everything's on a timer in my bedroom. In fact, most of the house is managed by remote control and timers. My windows close and lock at a preset time or once the airconditioning comes on. Someone would have to open it manually. Jethro? Why?

Why had he left without telling me? I thought after the three weeks we'd spent eating, sightseeing, and fucking, we'd be good friends and would continue to see each other. Obviously, he had made much more of an impact on me than I on him.

o     o     o

I moped about for days after that. Mrs. Allegretti was making anxious noises about my lack of appetite and nagging me to go see the shifter doctor, go for a blood test, asking if she needed to call my parents.  I finally ate a bit of the dinners she prepared before she left for home and forced myself to go out during the day so that she wouldn't panic and phone my parents.

Most times I'd just go to the park, losing myself in my thoughts about Jethro. Even though I know it was just sex for him, I still couldn't get him out of my mind. I've heard the humans say they never forget their first love. If humans could feel that way, what more a malawere? When malaweres fall in love, it's forever. A few of us find another life-love if our mates die first but most live out the rest of our lives still in love with our first mate and no one else.

It occurred to me, then, that I'd gone and done a very stupid thing by falling in love with Jethro - unless he was a shifter. But if he was, I would have detected it. Werewolves shifted later, at eighteen, and Jethro was already thirty. Shifters can tell if the one they are having sex with is also a shifter without the actual physical shifting to occur. It's to do with certain pheromones shifters secrete that enable us to recognize a fellow shifter.

Jethro did not secrete any shifter pheromones.

Yup. I'd done a very, very dumb thing, indeed. Furious at myself, I wished I'd picked a wolf shifter instead of a human if I was going to be this stupid, even though wolf shifters are a constant source of aggravation to us malaweres, to put it mildly. Natural-born trouble-makers, they are. Testosterone-laden, walking, talking hellraisers. Yeah, I know Dad told me there were a lot of wolf shifters in law enforcement, and that many in the military had been awarded Purple Hearts and Congressional Medals. By contrast, malaweres won Nobel Prizes for literature, sciences or Man-of-the-Year awards. Many of us are GQ models though there was a wolf shifter who was voted Sexiest Man Alive by People Magazine. Malaweres also make competent, reliable nannies, personal assistants and butlers. We excel in the diplomatic service, too, and many top FBI negotiators are malaweres as opposed to the gun-toting lupine US Marshals or special forces Rambo clones.

We're good spies, too. Or intelligence agents, as they are called these days. We are the brains to the wolf shifter's brawn. That doesn't mean we're soft-bellied, manicured wimps. Hugh Jackman, who plays Wolverine in the movies, is a malawere. You can tell by his singing and dancing skills but no one, in his right mind, would say Jackman's a soft-bellied, limp-wristed fairy. Matt Damon is a malawere, too. So is Brad Pitt while Angelina Jolie is a vampire, of course. Guess what Vin Diesel is.

Anyway, it was just wishful thinking on my part that Jethro was a shifter despite of my fear of wolf shifters. Fear may be too strong a word now that I'm no longer a kid but just a few years back, it would have been an understatement.

Why? Because I'd been attacked by one when I was seven.

Of course, at the time I didn't know the guy was a shifter. My friends and I had been playing in the park after school when my minder went to the restroom. A guy approached us and caught our ball when it went his way. I ran to him to get it back but instead of giving it back, he ran off with it into the copse of trees. I ran after him but my friends just stood there and watched me run into the woods after the guy.

I couldn't find him when I ran into the thick shrubbery but suddenly a large hand covered my mouth and I found myself lifted up and carried off. I fought and kicked but he was strong and I couldn't kick him hard enough.

I thought I was going to be killed by this hard, bony man when I heard shouts behind us. It was Mona, my minder, and Seward, our chauffeur. There were more voices so they had raised the alarm and more people were coming to help. I managed to get my mouth free from the man's hand and screeched loud enough to make the man cuss and smack me hard across my mouth.

Then I found myself flung away from him, landing hard on the ground. My head hit a large exposed tree root and before I passed out, I saw this large gray wolf running off. Mrs. Allegretti had told me stories about wolf shifters eating young malaweres and I had almost become dinner for one of them.

I was so traumatized by that incident I wouldn't leave the house for months except to go to school and even then, Dad had to hire two bodyguards twenty-four seven. The ironic thing was that one of the bodyguards was a wolf shifter, one of the good ones. His name was Dwayne Pride. Knowing how terrified I was, I never knew Dwayne was a wolf shifter until I was in high school. The other bodyguard was a malawere and he partnered with Dwayne for eighteen months, after which Dwayne continued on his own.

Dwayne guarded me for three whole years and his careful handling of me enabled me to regain my confidence so that by the time he left, I no longer looked over my shoulder every time I was alone and didn't shrink away from every adult male, expecting him to turn into a wolf.

It was Dwayne who taught me much of what I know about the wolf shifter kingdom. When I asked how he knew so much, he said he had some very good wolf friends and that his sister's best friend was married to one.

I was shocked when I heard that, not knowing it was Dwayne's way of telling me something that was likely to scare me. I was shocked, as Dwayne expected. A human married to a shifter? Yes, it wasn't common, Dwayne told me, but it happens and his sister's friend had been happily married close to ten years.

Later, he revealed that not only was he a wolf shifter, _he_ was the shifter his sister's best friend married. They invited me to their tenth wedding anniversary and I met his wife, their kids and a whole lot of other wolf shifters.

So if I know, firsthand, that there are good wolf shifters, why am I so leery of them? Because of another incident. A gang of wolf shifters gatecrashed Dwayne's wedding anniversary party. They harassed the female guests, attacked one guy who intervened and a fight broke out.

It was like one of those barbarian movies - lots of bloodcurling yells, screams, women and girls being carried off, blood everywhere, bodies being thrown and ripped apart.

Then the weapons were fired and by the time sirens were heard and the gangbanger shifters had roared off on their bikes, Dwayne's wife was dead, as were their two kids.

I was traumatized all over again but this time Dwayne was no longer there to help me. I heard later that he left and settled down south.

I did a lot of soul-searching after that, the result of which was that I managed to find in myself an inner well of strength I never knew I possessed. By my sixteenth birthday, not only was I tall and strong, I was strong _inside_. I was no longer afraid of my own shadow, I was no longer afraid of wolf shifters. I learned how to know and understand them, to distinguish between the good and the bad, and the ones in-between. I learned to sense who was strong, weak, who was leader of the pack even when he wanted to hide the fact.

It wasn't that those abilities are exceptional. These are natural abilities of all malaweres. What made me exceptional was what surfaced following an incident involving Ella, my cousin...

o     o     o

About a month before my sixteenth birthday, I killed someone. Well not just anyone. I killed a snake shifter. Yes, there are snake shifters just as there are other types of shifters but in much smaller numbers. I dislike snake shifters even less than wolf ones.

I didn't just kill the snake shifter out of self-defense in reaction to an immediate threat, which would have been the normal thing to do.

No, I sought out information on this guy, found out where he hung out and waited for the right time to strike. Why? Because he'd been harassing my fifteen year-old cousin, Ella, for not putting out for him on their first date. When she refused to go out with him again, he got his friends to heckle her in class, accost her in between classes and, finally, he threatened her.

He knew she was a shifter, of course, then found out what kind. That, of course, made him even hotter to get hold of my cousin. Ella called me up one day, scared and sobbing. Carl, she said, had whispered in her ear as they were heading to class, " _I love the taste of malawere pussy. Sweet, virginal Malawere ass is the best, too. Know why? They're so damned submissive by nature, they can't say no. And neither can I. But you said ‘no' and that just gets my cock even harder for you_."

Carl had promised Ella she was going to get a taste of his cock up her orifices before her sixteenth birthday - which was in a couple of months. Ella was beside herself with fear. Carl, she said, had already raped two other girls and one of them killed herself because Carl had brought his gang along and they'd gang-raped her.

I knew I had no time to waste. If I didn't act now, Ella would die. I don't know how I knew that but I did. I knew that neither persuasion nor threats would work. Not with Carl.

Malaweres aren't devious, cunning or deceptive by nature even though we employ verbal sleight-of-hand strategies to get something accomplished. We don't seek revenge or redress, so our protective streak is reactive, never offensive. But I knew, without a doubt that this time, our malawere ways would not work.

So I began to study Carl, noting his habits, casing his home. I knew that as a snake shifter, he was home more often than other shifter teens because he would molt more often than adult snake shifters. I read up on snake shedding and kept an eye on Carl's appearance. I needed to get him at his most vulnerable - when he'd just shed his skin.

I didn't even need him to shed his whole skin.

Three weeks after Carl's threat, our class was informed that he had been reported missing. Ella called me to ask if I'd heard the rumors that a dead snake had been found in Carl's bed.

Weirder still, the snake's _head_ had been missing and that the reptile had been in the midst of shedding its skin.

"Someone bit off the snake's head, according to the rumors," Ella said. "And the cops can't find Carl. It's just thirty-six hours, though, so they told his friends he'd probably turn up soon. I hope he doesn't. I hope he never comes back!"

Some said the snake must have crawled into Carl's room through the window and bitten him and Carl killed it though why Carl would disappear after that no one could guess. The cops combed the surrounding area, thinking Carl could have run out to get help but died but if he did, where was his body? He couldn't have gotten far. The headless reptile was disposed of by the authorities and Carl never did turn up after the thirty-six hours. Dead or alive.

Only I knew what had happened to Carl.

 

\------------

TBC

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	9. PART TWO: GIBBS & TONY - CHAPTER 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gibbs is taken the shifter headquarters and learns what he is, and is about to become.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since this is a short chapter, I decided to post it then give a week's break for me to resume writing.

PART TWO - CHAPTER 9

**GIBBS & TONY**

_**Meanwhile;** _

_**At Shifter Hq;** _

_**Washington, DC** _

 

**GIBBS  POV**

A short, blond man rose from his seat when I entered the room. The two escorts behind me retreated, closing the doors.

"Good morning, Jethro," the short guy greeted me. "I'm Dr. Mallard. I'm the alpha of the North-East Quadrant of NAFoS."

"What is going on here?" I asked, both annoyed and apprehensive. "What's this bullcrap those two men were feeding me on my way here?"

"Oh dear," Dr. Mallard murmured. "I was given to understand that your father would be there when our representatives went to fetch you."

"He was," I said. "But he didn't come with me."

"But he did tell you where you were going?"

"Sort of..." my voice trailed off. "He said something about me being a shifter and that Tom and Jerry would explain in the car."

"Tom and Jerry?" Dr. Mallard repeated in a puzzled tone which cleared after a moment. "Ah, you mean Marshals Jenner and Brown. Yes, they do look alike but they aren't related. So they did give you a brief overview?"

Instead of answering, I asked "What's NAFoS and what am I doing here?"

"NAFoS stands for North American Federation of Shifters," Dr. Mallard replied. "As to your being brought here, didn't the two shifter marshals tell you?"

"Yes, but it - are you expecting me to believe that stuff about werewolves?"

"I wouldn't expect you to believe it if you hadn't experienced it yourself. In fact, if you hadn't shifted, you wouldn't have been brought here."

True enough, but it merely raised more questions. I couldn't deny it - I had transformed into a wolf and while I had heard of rumors of their existence, like everyone I treated werewolves as just that - fanciful rumors; old wives' tales. This was the twenty-first century, not the Middle Ages. Yet here I was, standing in front of all these people who were...what? Wolf shifters?

"Why don't I introduce you to the others first?" Dr. Mallard suggested, unfazed by my guarded reaction. "Have a seat, Alpha Gibbs." He gestured to the chair in the middle.

I glanced around the conference room at the audience of men and women who were looking at me with curiosity and anticipation. Dr. Mallard sat down next to me and introduced the man seated on my other side.

 "Jethro, this is Trent Kort, the Alpha-1 of the European Federation of Shifters. EFoS," Dr. Mallard said. "This is Luke Roshan-Chao, Alpha-1 of the Asian Federation of Shifters - AfoS. Alpha-1s are heads of each continent and oversee the national packs. The North American shifter packs are divided into four quadrants that cover all of the US, including Canada and Mexico. Each quadrant has a quadrant alpha. Under him are the packs that form his quadrant and led by the pack alpha.

"As the Shifter Marshals, or your father, would have briefed you, you are a wolf shifter. Unlike other wolf shifters, you did _not_ commence your shift when you turned eighteen. It was one of the signposts that pointed to you as the designated Alpha-Rex."

"What's that?" I asked.

"King of the shifters," Dr Mallard replied. "But I'll expand on that later. Let me finish the background so you'll have a better idea of where you're at. We have monitored you since you turned eighteen - very discreetly, of course, as we are not allowed to interfere, or intervene, unless absolutely necessary, and only if it was life-threatening. When you did not shift on your 18th birthday, our monitoring went into high alert and we began to watch and wait for this day. When you shifted at pre-dawn this morning, we were ready for you but we had your father to uhh...facilitate your coming with us. Since you had no idea what would have been happening to you, we thought it a good idea to have someone you knew and trusted to communicate with you."

"How is it I heard him in my head?" I asked, still trying to digest everything. "Don't tell me it was telepathy."

Dr. Mallard gave a soft chuckle. "No. Shifters do not have telepathic powers. At least, not the way popular fiction has it. Just think how implausible that is - if we could all read each other's minds and conveniently switch it on or off? Imagine thousands of shifters and vampires able to read minds all over the world, whenever they wish...what a mess! But...I digress," he apologized and cleared his throat. "This morning - your call to duty - was a very special event. Your father had been given the ability to communicate with you telepathically, so-to-speak, for that brief space of time, for a specific purpose. Now that that assignment is accomplished, he no longer has that ability and neither do you.

"As to why your call to duty is so significant, you are our prophesied Alpha-Rex - the ruler of the worldwide shifters. As alpha-rex, you are our ultimate leader. King of _all_ shifters, regardless of species."

I gave him a _are-you-shittin-me_ look which Dr. Mallard ignored. "While the world's wolf tribes have had pack alphas continuously through the millenia," Dr. Mallard continued. "There has been no Alpha-Rex for over two thousand years. One, however, had been prophesied by the Seer to come this century  - you. A number of things in connection to your calling were also prophesied. First, that you would only shift at age 30; until then, we were not allowed, as shifters, to contact you. Undoubtedly, you lived and worked amongst shifters but you would not have known that. Neither would they since, in human form, shifters cannot detect another. In shifted form, you would be a larger than normal - a pure white wolf. You will also carry the mark of the Alpha-Rex - a black profile of a howling wolf on your forehead, its tail trailing down to the tip of your snout. A very visible marker of your destiny.

"You have now come to your next phase of life - what we call a ‘completed shifter'. For the next twenty years, however, you will live and work as a human but, at the same time, be mentored by an experienced pack alpha.  After these twenty years are fulfilled, you will be the Alpha-1 of the North American wolf tribes and, eventually, become Alpha-Rex - the prophesied Alpha of the entire worldwide shifters. This will occur on September 27th  commencing at 10.13pm and completing by 10.45pm when the Blood Moon is at its maximum. After that, you will enter the third phase. One with unique characteristics. It will enable you to bring about the unification of the various shifter kingdoms as well as forge ties with the vampires. You will usher in the long-awaited Golden Age of the VHS kingdoms."

An excited murmur arose amongst the rest of the alphas. This last piece of news was clearly news to them, too.

I looked at him wondering what movie he was talking about. I rent video tapes whenever I'm on leave but I've never heard of a movie about werewolves on VHS tapes.

The other people started asking Dr. Mallard questions and he held up a hand. "Ladies and gentlemen. That's what the Seer prophesied, but until the time comes, this remains within these four walls. It was also prophesied that there will be attempts to prevent both events from coming to pass - to stop Alpha Gibbs from taking leadership of NAFoS and, even if they fail at that, to prevent him from taking the throne." He turned to look at me. "Victory is assured, however, but not without bloodshed."

"Alpha Mallard, if I may interrupt," said Trent. Dr. Mallard inclined his head to give Trent permission. "You mentioned a third phase. What does that entail?"

"I'm afraid the Seer did not give details," Dr. Mallard replied. "We are only assured that whatever those qualities are, they will enable Jethro to bring about the Golden Era. One where the shifter and vampire kingdoms will unite and live at peace with the humans. This was prophesied by the Seer two thousand years ago and only now are we hearing that it will happen in _our_ lifetime. It's - it's..." the old man was at a loss for words. "It's astounding!"

"Did you just say ‘vampire'?" I asked.

"Yes." Dr. Mallard smiled.

I closed my eyes, shaking my head. That's all I bloody need. Vampires.

"Alpha Gibbs," Trent, the Brit guy said. "We do know this is very strange for you and you aren't sure if this is all real. We can only assure you it is. You are not hallucinating nor has your mind been tampered with. In the coming days, you will realize this. For now, just hear us out."

"If you have any other questions -" Dr. Mallard began but didn't get to finish.

"Are you kidding me?" I exploded. "Yeah, I have other questions. Like a hundred of them!" Dr. Mallard merely looked back at me with a slight smile.

"Your mentor will be able to answer some of those." Dr. Mallard looked at his watch. "He should be here any minute now, but I'm afraid he won't be able to answer any question pertaining to the details of your calling. His responsibility, as the alpha of the DC pack to which you belong, is to orientate you on general shifter life and train you to be an NCIS agent. Like him. He will continue to mentor you until you are deemed ready to take over leadership of NAFoS." Before Dr. Mallard could add anything else, the doors opened and the tall, lanky man sauntered in.

Mike Franks - the man who had given me the file on Pedro Hernandez. What the hell was this? First, my own father, a wolf shifter. Then Mike, an NCIS special agent, was one, too? What about my mother who'd died when I was just a year old? Was she a shifter, too? Who else?

 

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**TBC**

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* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you've liked the chapters so far. Next posting won't be till the weekend.  
> The next few chapters will cover Tony as an adult and his becoming a federal agent.


	10. PART TWO: GIBBS & TONY - CHAPTER 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had a horrible week. Didn't get ANY writing done. I'm posting several chapters for this weekend then another week's break where I'm hoping I can make some headway with the writing. Thank you for being patient:)

 

 

 

PART TWO - CHAPTER 10

**GIBBS & TONY**

 

 

 

**TONY'S POV**

It was now a week since I lost my cherry to Jethro. I had no one I could confide in. Not Matt or Phil as they'd both laugh at me. I could handle the sniggers behind my back about my weird dress sense and my dorky looks but sharing something as private as my relationship with Jethro, that I couldn't handle. Besides, I can't call it a relationship, can I?

Both Matt and Phil had called me the next day wanting to hear all the dirty details of our three weeks together and after I refused, had, as I expected, called me an ungrateful slut, a tease, and that Jethro must have been really desperate to have fucked me...and a loser, to have gone on a road trip with me.

I turned off my phone after that because Matt and Phil had spread the news around about my getting dumped and the rest of my friends were calling up to get more dirt. I turned my phone back on a few hours later. I was sixteen, after all. Besides, Jethro might call. I had given him my number just before we went to bed. He was leaving in the morning and I didn't want to forget. Who am I kidding? Like I could forget anything connected to Jethro.

He didn't call and I spent another sleepless night telling myself it would pass - this deep ache in my heart for Jethro. I was, after all, a malawere and one day I would meet my life-mate - another malawere who would love me as malaweres need to be loved and cherished. Dallying with non-malaweres were to be just that - dalliances - nothing more. Okay, so I use words like ‘dalliance' instead of...‘fucking'? Malaweres are kinda old school in many things, especially language and the arts and while we converse with our peers, shifters or not, in teenspeak, in our heads we tend to revert to an older, formal style. We do not speak with our elders the way we do with those in our age group and all my human friends' parents have remarked on it. But they like it, considering it a mark of my privileged and proper upbringing.

Which is odd, when I think of it because my parents are not at all strict. My human friends have curfews, get grounded, their parents are called in to the principal's office, get expelled and thrown in jail. Me, I do not have curfews, never get into trouble, yet I have fun and still do well in school. Yeah, that's strange in this day and age. Hell, in any _day_ and age. My Dad told me it's genetic. Malamutes, from eons back, had already become an invaluable asset to the humankind. We provided companionship along with our usefulness and work animals. Dependability has been bred into us for tens of thousands of millenia so we do not have a rebellious streak. Most of all, we remain cheerful and fun to be with despite our well-behaved characteristics. Of course, I didn't realize this until I was out of my teens. Until then, I believed I was going to die a dork, unattractive and boring, and that Jethro did fuck me only because I was available he too horny to care.

 

o     o     o

 

The days flew by and soon I was back in school. I missed Jethro with an intensity that worried me because, I had to face it, the guy was a stranger. He hadn't even known I existed until the night of the party. I told myself he had made it clear it was just sex for him. At least it was that night I met him, but after three weeks on the road together, well...I did hope it could develop into more.

Bummer, that it hadn't.

Despite my teenage crush on Jethro, I was able to throw myself into my studies when I started college. Four years later, I graduated from Georgetown University with a degree in 'Foreign Service in Culture and Politics'. As many wealthy malawere families do, my parents gave me a graduation and 21st birthday gift - a year's all-expenses-paid vacation. I went to London and spent the next twelve months with my maternal cousin, Crispin Paddington, touring The Continent, as privileged young men did back in the old days before settling down to a profession and starting a family.

Jethro was never far from my mind, of course, but I had, by then, accepted that I was a diehard romantic, destined to treasure that night with Jethro forever. Still, I accepted that life had to go on and to do that, I also decided I needed a makeover. Or, to be more truthful, my cousin thought I needed one. He'd taken one look at me when he picked me up at Heathrow and literally shuddered.

"I do love you, cuz," he'd said. "But I'm walking around London with you looking as you are over my dead body."

 "How can you be dead if you're walking?" I asked.

"Tony, my dear," _Ooh, that posh Brit accent of his._ "Haven't you heard the term ‘dead man walking'? Well, the minute my friends catch sight of you _I'm_ a dead man. So, before anything else, a drastic makeover is in need. I shall give my hair designer a call, then an appointment at Savile Row and Jermyn Street. No, wait. A better idea. I'll engage a makeover artiste and let him handle the lot."

So I entrusted myself into the hands of said makeover artiste who looked me up and down with barely restrained excitement. Apparently, I was the perfect challenge - good bones underneath and naturally beautiful but both submerged under a distressing sense of fashion and personal grooming.

After my year of adventure, in both foreign lands and fashion, I returned home to the US looking nothing like the young man who'd left. My hair was stylishly clipped short and I had collamer lenses implanted so no more spectacles. I couldn't wear contact lenses because it caused severe irritation to my cornea and I was amazed at how different I looked without my glasses. Not having the thick shaggy dog mop helped, too.

 

o     o     o

 

Back in the US, I was offered a job with the United States Foreign Service which saw me returning to London, attached to the US embassy at Grosvener Square. Crispin was delighted at my return, this time to live and work. He was relieved and impressed that I had adopted my new look  as a permanent one and had not returned to my grungy, nerdy look.

"But we must do something about that bod, cuz," he'd said. What? Now it was my body that was wrong? "It's about holistics, Tony, sweetheart."

"You can't call me ‘sweetheart'," I'd said. "People will think...you know." Needless to say, Crispin is one of those flaming queens whereas I...am not. In fact, no one would even think I was gay just by looking at me. Crispin's flamboyance, however, masks a caring, gentle heart - a defense, I guess, from those who are likely to take advantage of his wealth and position.

"And so what if they do?" Crispin retorted. "My friends assumed we were lovers the minute they met you."

‘What?"

"Chill. I've told them we aren't. Not that they believe me. Well, our malawere friends do but not the humans. You know how _they_ are - they can't believe there's such a thing as non-sexual cuddling between two men. Anyway," he waved the subject aside. "I'm going to speak to Anton, my gym instructor, and ask if he would take you on. You have a good height and build but your muscles need definition." He paused and gave a sigh. "If there's one thing I envy you, it's your metabolism. "You could live on pizza and burgers everyday and still not put on an extra ounce of fat."

I couldn't agree more. Especially as I love pizza.

We went house-hunting and Crispin found a cozy three-story mews house in Nottinghill. Crispin, being one of The Wiltshire Paddingtons, didn't have to work but he did. He has the title of Director of Global Business Development. This meant he spent his work days and evenings entertaining prospective clients, or being entertained, flying all over the world on the corporate jet. Once the connection was made, Crispin would pass it over to his executives and the well-compensated minions would do the grunt work.

Between my busy schedule and his, we still managed to take trips to Europe for shopping or to meet up with friends for the weekend. I had much less flexibility with my time than Crispin but my cousin magnanimously adjusted his leisure timetable at my convenience. It went without saying that ours was a privileged life, surrounded by the affection of family and friends.

Yet, to be honest, I'd give it all up and live in a tent if I could be with Jethro. Okay, maybe not a tent. Abberation or not, I was still a malawere and I loved the luxurious life. Besides, if I had been a wolf shifter or a vampire, I wouldn't be holding this torch for a lover this long. Or this intensely. It sucked that I was different from other malaweres in this respect. Unmated malaweres were supposed to have carefree love lives. Romance was supposed to be fun and the thrill of discovering a new lover was the reason why single malaweres looked forward to each day. Malawere romances typically lasted less than six months and we'd have more than one love interest at the same time. It is not considered infidelity since feelings of possessiveness and territoriality only kick in when the other becomes a life-mate. Then, he, or she, becomes the _only_ mate. Exclusivity and monogamy for life. Until then, the world is our playpen.

So why was I feeling this way about a Jethro? Who was a human!

o     o     o

 

After four years with the foreign service, I opened the door one Saturday morning, expecting Crispin. Instead, two identical-looking gentlemen stood before me, flashing their IDs.

I invited them in and ended up becoming a Federal Agent with the Diplomatic Security Service. After a year of training, three months of which were at FLETC, I was a full-fledged special agent. We are often confused with the Defense Security Service since we share the same initials but while the Defense Security Service is a federal civil service under the DoD, the Diplomatic Service Security is the law enforcement arm of the US Department of State. The majority of my fellow special agents are, like me, foreign service officers, responsible for protecting US diplomats and visiting foreign dignitaries.

However, I had no desire to be a Fed, much less babysit grownups, no matter how important they were. Wasn't that a career choice of wolf shifters, after all? I was twenty-six years old and had plans to make it to Ambassador before fifty and the powers-that-be wanted me to be a bodyguard?

"Take the DSS offer, son," my father had said, to my surprise. "It'll be a step towards your being in the DSS' Office of Investigations and Counterintelligence."

"It is?" my ears had pricked up at that. My second choice of career was that of counter-intelligence. Sure, things are different now after the Cold War but that's what the world thinks. In reality, nothing has changed. We spy on friends and foes alike. So, I was thinking more along the lines of the intelligence community, like NCS - the National Clandestine Service. Dad had other ideas which, as it was, ended up more my cup of tea. Father Knows Best and all that, because soon after I joined, I was introduced to Trent Kort, the head of MI-6, who proceeded to woo me over to his world of the real James Bonds. It was so much more my cup of tea. Under Trent, I was responsible for gathering intelligence while I escorted diplomatic staff and attended the functions as part of my ‘day' job. My 'night' job...that was not to be talked about but it was the stuff that got me wondering if I was a closeted adrenalin junkie.

My life was extremely busy after that, involving travel to many parts of the world, many of them hotspots of violence. My work, at the time, involved the procurement of information from various sources then, upon orders from my higher-ups, would execute the appropriate actions. Sometimes, and more often than not, this involved less-than-diplomatic means. In cruder terms - shoot first, talk later.

It is this that sets me apart from other malaweres, even those in the intelligence community. As with my cousin Ella's tormentor, Carl, the snake shifter, I had shown myself capable, and more than willing, to employ more effective means to neutralize an enemy when negotiations failed. Most malumute shifters abjure violence and those that do resort to it, like yours truly, do so only when all else fails. I knew that Ella's parents would take the usual route - try talking sense into Carl - and I knew it would be useless to tell them stronger measures were needed to get that dickhead to desist. The authorities had questioned Carl following the rapes of the two girls, and the subsequent suicide of one of them. Carl had been so smug after the cops let him off for lack of evidence linking him to the crimes but I wasn't prepared to let him think he could get away with his threats to Ella.

Carl was my first kill but not my last. My years with the DSS did include some violent acts of which I take absolutely no pleasure in but they were necessary for national security. I was, therefore, one of the few malaweres who worked alongside wolf shifter operatives. Generally-speaking, wolf shifter operatives do not have a high regard for us but those who have actually run a high-risk mission with me have always ended up with a different opinion. I can't say if that's a positive or negative - to be considered an aberration by a wolf shifter - but it didn't bother me. So what if I was a malawere who didn't balk at killing? It didn't mean I was any less charming or lovable.

During these busy years, I often thought of Jethro, especially during the winter nights when malaweres love to cuddle up with a lover or friend. If neither was available, malaweres will cuddle up with a family member. Crispin and I had lots of cuddling during the winters of these years as he had not yet found a mate either.

I did date, and often. I also had a relatively regular sex life. It wasn't amazing sex but it was satisfying sex and I was happy enough with it.

Amazing sex has been the reserve of only one person. I never met another like Jethro and my longing for him never abated through the years. It got to a point I wondered if I could ever find a mate.

Then I met Jonas.

 

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**TBC**

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	11. PART THREE: TONY & JONAS - CHAPTER 11

 

PART THREE - CHAPTER 11

**TONY & JONAS**

 

 

 

_**Tripoli, Libya; 2008** _

I was tired. The evening temperature on the Libyan coast was pleasant, but we'd been driving for thirteen hours, every second fraught with tension. I hadn't had more than a couple of hours sleep the night before but I'm used to that by now. My two years with the DSS had been a baptism by fire but this assignment would have to be the most risky and I'm wondering if I'll make it to the third year. Twenty-nine is too young to die.

My assignment: Get the two journalists captured by Islamic militants out of Libya. The abductees - Austin Rice, US correspondent for the Washington Post, and John Camden, of the UK's Sunday Times. Fortunately for Rice and Camden they had already been rescued by Gaddafi's troops and kept in an unknown location in Benghazi. ‘Rescued' was a debatable word since I now had to liberate them from Gaddafi's "safekeeping" - the  success of which depended on my negotiating skills. I was to secure their release from the Mad Dog of Libya in exchange for US oil concessions. Talk about out of the frying pan...

In any case, I concluded that deal and now had to get Rice and Camden to the US Embassy in Tripoli and then flown to London. US-Libyan relations had been tenuous for years and even though the liaison office had been accorded full embassy status two years ago. in this part of the world, the next hour could turn things on their head. I didn't want to get caught in Libya should that happen so gritty eyed or not, I kept driving.

We were ten minutes from the embassy when the roadblock loomed ahead. It wasn't too late to take a detour but it meant risking our ride leaving if we didn't arrive at the meeting point at the designated hour. It was always touch-and-go, especially when depending on a local. If he was made, his entire family would be killed as a lesson to others.

"I bet you both my nuts the Mad Dog's reneged on his agreement and we're gonna find ourselves back in the shithole," Austin said.

" _My_ nuts, too," John added. "Gaddafi's nuttier than squirrel shit."

"Well, I happen to be very fond of my nuts," I said, executing a sharp left turn down a street off University Road. "So let's take the scenic route. With some luck we won't strike another road block."

Our detour through the Libyan capital took us further south - too far away from the embassy, which was not good news. Our ride could only wait for so long without rousing suspicion.

"Damn," I muttered, when we emerged onto Al-Hadhbah Road and saw another roadblock just before Al Hadhbah emerged onto the roundabout. I executed an U-turn, nearly running over a motorcylist and headed back where we came from. "Looks like the Embassy is out, boys. We've got to find another way outta here." My cell phone vibrated in my pocket and he dug it out. It was Trent Kort. "We got roadblocked," I told my handler.

"I know," Trent said. "Forget your ride at the embassy. He's dead. Plan B in motion. Do you know where you and I first met and you had drunken spaghetti with spicy salami sauce?"

There was a slight pause, then I laughed. "Of course! Best I've had outside of Tuscany."

"Your new ride will meet you there. Give me an estimated ETA."

"Twenty-five minutes."

Trent hung up without a goodbye and I stepped on the gas. "Hang on to your nuts. We're heading for Port Sidi Bilal."

"What's there?" Austin asked.

"A friendly. I met my handler there for the first time. At Mario's house. Mario made me a drunken spaghetti that was to die for. He was born in Libya. His family's _Italo Libici_ \- Italian Libyans - since the 1930s until the Mad Dog expelled the Italians. Mario returned in 2000 but he's supposed to be gone this year. We're lucky he's still here."

"Well, then. _Velòchee, soo, soo, andeeàmoh_!" John punched his fist frontwards three times,

""Quick, c'mon, let's go!" Austin translated.

I sang out in my rich tenor - " _Funiculi, funicula, Funiculi, funicula-aaa! 'ncoppa jammo ja, Funiculi, funicula!_ "

John and Austin joined in and the three of us sang the Italian classic as our black Jag sped along the Coastal Road that would take us to the port.

"Why are we singing an Italian song in Libya?" Austin asked.

"Because I don't know any Arab ones," I replied.

" _Funiculi, Funicula-AAAAA_!" John sang out.

"J _ammo, jammo 'ncoppa jammo ja,_ " the three burst out in unison. " _Jammo, jammo 'ncoppa jammo ja, Funiculi, funicula, Funiculi, funicula; 'ncoppa jammo ja, Funiculi, funicula-aaaaaa!_ "

 

o     o     o

 

 "Hang on to those nuts again," I said, a few minutes later. "We have a tail."

John and Austin turned to look.

"I don't see anyone," Austin said. "Not military, anyway, but it's too dark to make anyone out."

"Who are they?" John asked.

"Probably the ones who killed our ride at the embassy," I replied. "Could also be those roadblocks _weren't_ courtesy of Gaddafi, which, you may be surprised, is worse."

"What do you mean?" John asked, turning to look around again.

"Could be one of the jihadist groups," I explained, keeping my foot on the pedal. "ISIS, probably."

"Oh shit, no. Not them." Austin groaned. "Those guys are crazier than Gaddafi, I swear."

Traffic slowed up ahead and the jeep caught up. 

"I see them. Militia!" Austin exclaimed. "Five cars away. Gaining. Oh, fuck."

"We're almost there," I said, still sounding calm and controlled. "I'm going to drive past Mario's house but we're not stopping. We'll see if there's any sign of our ride."

"Then what?" Austin asked.

"I dunno." I replied. "I just want him to know we're there. He'll be looking out for us so when he sees us going by, chased by a jeepful of militants, he'll contact London."

"Then what?" Austin asked again. "Hey, they're moving out! Step on it, DiNozzo!"

"We're here." I made a sharp turn right into Oea Village Road, tires screeching. Mario's house was about midway on the treelined avenue. "Okay, boys," I said. "We need eyes. Look for a red gate while I try to keep those guys from cutting us off."

I had to slow down as there was a car in front of us but that enabled us to not only spot the red gates of Mario's house, but the man standing beside it, studying a road map as if he were a lost tourist.

"That's our ride," I said as we sped past the house and the tall man with the shaved head.

Both Austin and John yelled when a burst of gunfire spat at us. The Jag jerked and I cursed.

"Tire's hit. Get down! Keep your heads down!" I fishtailed the Jag to a halt and grabbed my weapons. I had a semi-automatic and two magazines. Four militants. I fired off three shots and got two of them. I was confident of getting the last two before they got to us when I saw a small truck coming up behind the jeep. Back up. Unfortunately, theirs not ours. It was too dark to count how many - standing in the open bed behind. Damn. If I ever got out of this, I was going to stay put in London for awhile and do nothing more exciting than a walk to the neighborhood pub for a lager.

I emptied the 20-round magazine and reloaded. The jeep had stopped and the two surviving militants were taking shelter behind it. All traffic had cleared, leaving the avenue empty save the three vehicles. The militiamen's four-wheeler came to a stop a few meters away and I heard Austin whimper. "Don't let them take me, Tony," he cried.

"I won't. It's not over yet, Rice." _Come on, come on_ , I hissed to myself. _Whatever your name is,_ _I need some help here_. Our replacement ride looked like he could hold his own. I could only hope he was smart enough to come lend a hand.

Another round of bullets hit our car but I had managed to get behind a tree, yelling at Austin amd John to follow me while I covered for them. I was firing my second magazine when I felt the searing heat on my shoulder. My weapon fell to the ground and I scrambled for it with my left hand. Austin and John were still cowering in the Jag, too afraid to get out. The militants' truck came to a halt beside their comrades' jeep and the men with their black scarves around their faces started jumping out. Another vehicle was coming up the road at speed and the militants stopped to look at who the moron was. It went without saying that the minute you saw armed militants you stayed clear of the area but the third vehicle was roaring up and didn't look like it was going to stop.

I hoped it was who I thought it was. True enough, standing behind in the pickup truck's bed with an AT4 on his shoulder was our replacement ride.

_AT4? Oh, fuck. No._ "Get out!" I yelled at Austin and John. "Incoming! Get out of the car NOW!" The two men scrambled out as I cursed. What the fuck was the idiot thinking! An anti-tank weapon? It would blast us all to kingdom come.

Before I could even finish the thought there was an explosion. And another. Militants went flying as both their vehicles went belly up.

The three of us had flung ourselves on the ground behind a tree on the roadside. I looked up when I heard the truck drive up close.

The ride jumped off and came towards us. Mario was close behind, watching their backs.

"Jonas Raven, at your Majesty's service,"  he said, hand outstretched. A slight pause. "Sorta."

I blinked at him as Austin and John lifted their heads and looked about them. "You're American," I said. "You don't have a ‘majesty'.

"You gonna be pedantic _now_?" Raven asked. "Move, DiNozzo. We gotta haul ass."

o     o     o

 

Raven and Mario bundled us all into a fishing boat moored at the nearby port and Mario bandaged up my shoulder with the first aid kit he had in the boat.

"Where to, now?" I asked.

"Lampedusa," Raven replied. "From there, we take a flight to Rome then home." He sat down beside me as Mario maneuvered the boat out of the marina. "The bullet went clean through so that helps. You need antibiotics, though." 

"I'll be fine," I murmured. After the initial wooziness and pain, I'd be back to normal within twenty-four hours, with a tiny scar. That, too, would fade completely within a week My problem was how to hide that from Raven and, failing which, how to explain it. "I gotta call Haggis," I said, referring to Trent's codename.

"I'll do that. Hang on." Raven took out his cell phone and punched the numbers. "Hey, Jimmy. I got the bread - three types like you ordered, and an extra. One's slightly dented, though, but should be fine." He listened for a moment then passed the phone to me. "Not secure."

I nodded. "Hey, it's me."

"DiNozzo. Your bread didn't turn out well?" Trent asked.

"Just a small dent when I dropped it. The other batches turned out well."

"Well, hurry up. I'll see you tomorrow back at your place."

"Great. Thanks for the ride."

I handed the phone back to Raven. "Thank you. You one of Trent's?"

"Now and then. How was the exchange with Gaddafi?"

_Okay, so he didn't want to talk about himself._ "Went smoothly, until we got to Tripoli," I replied. "What happened to my original ride? Who killed him?"

Jonas made a grimace. The distortion didn't diminish the man's good looks, I thought. "Don't know at this point. I was on my way back to the US when Haggis called and told me to get to Mario's immediately to complete the extraction. He did tell me to expect opposition."

"Yeah, but an AT4?"

Raven shrugged. "Didn't know how many and there was only me available. I figured the AT 4 would delay them, however many, and give us time to get to the port. So, tell me - which unit are you from?"

I gave him a rundown of my assignment and my connection to Trent Kort and found out we were not only colleagues but Americans, too. Raven was attached to an unnamed unit under Kort, which meant it was covert and if they had a name, only they knew it. He went to relieve Mario at the wheel and I went to check on the journalists. They had fallen asleep out of sheer exhaustion and I soon dropped off, too.

Ten minutes from Lampedusa, Raven came and woke us.

"You okay?" he asked me.

"I'm good," I replied. "Hungry, though."

"That's good." Raven winked. "An appetite's always a good sign. Food on the plane's shit, though, but I'll feed you when we get to Rome."

"You will?"

"Yep. All part of the service." Another wink.

"I don't think so," I said. "I think you're flirting with me."

"Oh yeah?" Raven's green eyes narrowed but the smile was still full on.

Most definitely yeah, but I didn't say anymore. I knew, without a doubt, he and I were going to see a lot more of each other.

 

\-------------

**TBC**

\-------------


	12. PART THREE: TONY & JONAS - CHAPTER 12

 

PART THREE - CHAPTER 12

**TONY & JONAS**

 

 

_**One Week Later,** _

_**London, UK** _

"What the fuck!" I pushed myself off the wall where Raven had slammed me hard enough to shake loose my David Hockney off the wall. It hit the floor, cracking the glass. My bowl of ice cream went clattering on the floor, sending two scoops of my favorite flavor sliding across the timber decking. "What was that for?" I shoved Raven back. Hard.

He emitted a low growl as he stripped and shifted. Into a wolf.

_Ohh shit. Just my luck._ I yelped when he leapt at me and made a vain attempt to escape but the 230 pounds of gray wolf took me down before I could move two steps.

I immediately shifted and for the next twenty minutes my 200-pound malamute wrestled with the giant gray. We toppled over a large potted plant, spilling soil all over the rug, knocked over everything on my coffee table and upturned the sofa.

What started off as combative ended with the two of us doing what shifters do when in shifted form - sniff the newcomer's ass, give him a couple of test licks and see if he reciprocates.

In my case, I was happy to lick Raven's ass for the rest of the day. _Then_ fuck him. I'd been wanting to since we left Tripoli but a bullet wound had gotten in the way. I'd prefer Raven to be a human or a malawere but I wasn't really picky these days. Sex was just that and it had been a few weeks since my last fuck. A wolf shifter would have to do.

Raven, however, was having none of that. Whirling round, he tackled me to the ground and once he was on top of me, shifted to back to his human form and maneuvered himself so that I found a huge, hard cock nudging my snout. My tongue curled out instinctively and gave his cock several long licks before I, too, shifted back to human form.

"Gawd, Dinozzo," Raven rasped as I swallowed his cock down my human throat. "I'm either going to kill you or fuck you."

"Fuck is infinitely better," I said, before I swallowed his cock again. Withdrawing a moment later, I asked. " _Kill me_? Why?"

"I thought you were going to die, dickhead!"

I grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, but that's how malaweres heal. We deteriorate suddenly and look like we're gonna die but it's actually our body gathering steam for the that final healing surge. Your cock's gorgeous, like the rest of you, by the way," I said, sliding in the non sequitur. "Haven't you worked with other malaweres?"

"No. Not, not the kind of work I do." He looked down at me, my mouth poised at his cockhead. He grasped his thick shaft and nudged my lips. I gave it a long lap.

"So you've never fucked a malawere?" I asked.

"No. Have you fucked a wolf shifter?"

I paused, then replied quietly. "Yes. Once."

"Quickie, huh?"

"No. Through the night. All through the night."

"And?"

"And...do you wanna fuck or talk?" I asked brusquely. I'd tried not to think of Jethro but thirteen years had not blunted the edge off my yearning. In fact, the longing had grown with each passing year.

"Both," Jonas replied, to my surprise. "Alright, fuck first."

I pulled him down again and kissed him. Deeply. We took our time to search each other out with our tongues. Alternating between sucking, lapping and licking, we moved down each other's bodies until every inch had been covered.

Jonas lapped at the spot where the bullet had pierced through, narrowly missing my clavicle. The wound had closed over but was still pink, unlike just two days ago when the entire shoulder had swelled up and the wound was an angry, alarming blackish-red hole. I had been so weak I had been unable to move from my bed to answer the doorbell.

 

 

_**FLASHBACK: Two Days Ago** _

Shocked at the sight that greeted him when he'd seen Tony, Jonas had called Kort who told him to come by his office. There, Kort had told Jonas Tony was a malawere and that he'd recover and be absolutely fine in a day or two.

"How did you get in his flat if he couldn't open the door?" Kort asked.

Jonas merely rolled his eyes at Trent. "I don't really need to answer that, do I?"

Trent sighed. "I suppose not," Jonas could infiltrate the most secure installations. A private residence was nothing.

"You're sure he'll be fine?" Jonas asked. "He looked close to death."

"He'll be fine. Malaweres have unique healing properties, even stronger than wolf shifters. It's very deceptive because they do look like they're not going to make it but it's like the tide, to use an analogy. The malawere's healing energy goes into an ebb before it surges forward. You saw Tony during his ebbtide." Seeing Jonas' look of relief, Trent added, "I've got another assignment for you. In the DRC. You leave this weekend. You'll be met on your arrival and given your assignment brief only then. Meantime, I'd appreciate it if you could look in on Tony."

"Why? You said he'll be fine in a day or two."

Kort lifted one dark raven's wing of a brow. "You mean you aren't even curious? He's one of my best agents, one of the best the DSS has ever had." He leaned back as Jonas stood, ready to leave. "Oh, and he's gay, too."

Jonas' hand stilled at the doorknob. He turned, "I guess I could drop by before I leave."

 

_**END OF FLASHBACK** _

o     o     o

 

That was how Raven had ended up at my door, pressing the buzzer this time instead of breaking in like he did yesterday. This was why his worry for me had turned to anger when my sickly pallor and on-my-deathbed look had been replaced by a suave, healthy, tanned hunk in cashmere and blue jeans (his words, not mine) opening the door with one hand, and a bowl of what smelled like butterscotch ice cream in the other.

"I've got butterscotch ice-cream smeared on my ass," I complained when I could speak intelligibly again.

"I'll lick it off," Raven said, his words coming out in a heavy rasp as he turned me over. True enough, my already tanned butt was covered with the caramel-colored ice cream.

Raven took his time lapping the skin clean then licking and sucking up the rest of the melted ice cream that had trickled between my ass cheeks. Spying one half-melted blob nearby, he scooped it up and, spreading one cheek with his other hand, stuffed it into my hole.

I yelped again at the icy intrusion then the tension ebbed away. Raven was turning out to be a very pleasant surprise. Malaweres love fun sex and playing with food during sex was one of my favs. I couldn't believe he was a wolf shifter.

"I love ice-cream," Jonas said, looking up at me between my legs. "Sorbets, too."

"Mmm." I lifted my ass higher. "I can make lychee martini sorbet for another day."

"I like the ‘another day'," Raven grinned then went back to eating his ice cream. His tongue went in deep, making me groan out loud in ecstasy but when he spread my cheeks wide, swiped more ice cream off the rug and stuffed it into my hole before sucking it out, _I_ cried out loud.

"Fuck me. _NOW_ , Raven!" I panted, hands grasping at his head. The lack of hair to grab frustrated me. I like the tough buzz-cut look but not during sex. I like having hair to grip. It was that dominant side of me that came out once in a while during sex. "Now, Raven," I growled.

"Ooh, the man's serious," Jonas said, chuckling, lifting my legs over his shoulders. "You do have lube nearby, I hope. An hour earlier and I would have loved to rip you a new one, but now..."

I reached for the small drawer under the table and took the tube of lube out. "But now what?" I asked, passing the tube to him.

"But now, I think I'd like you to keep you around for awhile and take my time," Jonas replied. "We could even be friends."

"Fuck first, Raven," I said. "We can do the pillow talk after."

He chuckled and flicking the cap off the tube, squeezing a good amount of the slippery gel, and coated me with three thick fingers, dipping more into me.

 "You don't have to empty the whole tube into me," I told him.

"Just making sure you'll be comfortable. You're a malamute, after all. You might not be able to handle the rough stuff."

"Try me, wolf wimp."

He laughed and thrust two of his fingers into me, widening them. Seeing I was ready to take him, he positioned his cock then sank in balls deep in one decisive stroke. The gurgling sounds from me had him pausing but my ass thrusting forward to meet each stroke told him it was a pleasurable pain.

Even then he checked. "Hurting you?"

I huffed."You're not _that_ big."

"Asshole." Raven muttered. He thrust in fast and hard. My gasp and wince satisfied him.

"Come _on_ , Raven. Fuck a cum out out of me."

"Damn." He hissed and steadied me with a firm clasp on my shoulder and twisted me slightly so that we scissored each other. "Hang on tight, sweetheart."

He rode me hard, holding in his own orgasm until my balls shot their double-barrelled load and my cum spattered over my chest and belly. Even then Jonas held on to his climax. I groaned in response, my orgasm still humming through me. My legs lay splayed on the rug as I laid flat on my back.

He withdrew, squirted a bit more lube into me then slid back in without a word. When my eyes flew wide, he leaned in and gathered me in his arms. I didn't know why, but this felt special. It felt more than just a fuck, even though that was what it was. Even though for over a decade I had been engaging in casual sex and nothing else, when I was living a life as far removed from a malawere's as possible.

I could not explain, even to myself, why Jonas Raven felt special, but he was. I couldn't explain why I felt this way after just one fuck - awesome as it was - when I knew Jethro was still the one for me.

He gave himself several rapid thrusts, each one going as deep as he could into me, before letting go. He must have pumped a gallonful of cum into me because when he finally pulled out, it squirted, not dribbled, out when I coughed.

We were a mess. The floor was a mess. The rug was ruined. Sated, for now, we lay in each other's arms until the shadows lengthened and we needed to piss.

"Raven?"

"Hmm?"

"Hungry?" I asked.

"Always," Jonas replied. "You cook? If you can and will, I'll clean up. But your rug may be non-salveagable."

"I can cook - and pretty well, if I may say so. So yeah, you clean." I pushed myself off the floor, my body still heavy and lethargic in the aftermath of our sexing. "Don't worry about the rug. My dry cleaner works miracles. He'll pick up it up and deliver it when it's ready."

"Great," Raven said, getting up and following me to the bathroom. "And hey --" I turned. "Call me Jonas."

I nodded. "And I'm Tony. Not Hey."

 

o     o     o

 

Since that day when I'd come face to face with the crazy US Navy SEAL about to blast our asses sky high with the AT4, Jonas had struck me with his protectiveness. As a malawere, I could identify with that, but Jonas was a wolf shifter and I guess that was the reason for the Rambo approach. But Jonas also had a humorous side to him and I could see the swagger and confidence-bordering-on-arrogance was merely an outer layer.

 "So how long have you been a SEAL?" I asked.

"About nine years," he replied. "I'm thirty-one. You?"

"Twenty-nine. This is my third year with the DSS."

"Handled yourself pretty well back there in Tripoli."

"Thanks," I said. "And I was thinking you were a crazy idiot coming at us with that AT4."

Jonas chuckled. "Aw, c'mon. Did the blast reach you? Were any of you even hit by any exploding shrapnel?" He shook his head. "You need to have more faith in me. If the distance between them and me, and them and you, had been too close, I'd have used the grenade, not the AT4."

"Thank you, that's good to know. Even after the fact."

"So...you're a malawere," Jonas said, sitting back with the afogato I had made with the leftover butterscotch ice cream.

"And you...a bloody wolf shifter," I retorted.

Jonas laughed again. "Hey, so what? We could be great friends." When I snorted, he said, "Why not? Fantastic friends, awesome sex, great food and dessert - I want it all." He waved the spoon at me. "Do you fall in love so quickly?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"You." Jonas pointed at me with the long spoon. "With me." He pointed the spoon at himself.

"What?" A laugh burst out of me. "Delusional much?"

"Come _on_." Jonas' grin was lopsided and dimples punctured his cheeks, giving him a decidedly cheeky look despite the five o'clock shadow. "You know you are."

I eyed the dimples. "How the hell would you know? But no, I do _not_ fall in love easily,"  I lied.

"I was told malaweres do."

"Oh yeah? And just who told you that? Anyway," I added, not bothering to wait for his reply. " I've only ever been in love once."

"Me, too," Jonas responded.

"Yeah? Girl? Guy?"

"Guy. A Marine."

"Tell me," I said.

"Another time." Jonas stood, taking our empty glasses to the sink. "Thank you for a lovely meal...and a fantastic...evening." He paused, then said quietly, "I have to go."

I nodded, standing up, too. "I know. Thanks...for everything." I walked him to the door. "Were you serious about the _we-could-be-great-friends_?"

Jonas smiled. "Of course," he replied softly. "I don't know how long I'll be away but I'll call when I can. I won't be contactable. If you do need to get a message to me, speak to Kort."

I nodded. I didn't want Jonas to go. Not yet. I wanted a few more days with my new friend.

He gave me a soft kiss. "I think I'm going to miss you."

Then he was gone.


	13. PART THREE: TONY & JONAS - CHAPTER 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jonas' Task force 77 is fictitious. Task force 88 is not.

 

 

PART THREE - CHAPTER 13

**TONY & JONAS**

__

 

_**For more info on Task Force 88, see Wikipedia:Task Force 88** _

_ 2010; Somewhere in Africa _

**JONAS' POV**

 

Being a SEAL had its advantages as far as sexual partners went since it meant I had a super-fit body but being part of a black ops team meant I could not have any serious involvement with anyone. I couldn't plan ahead as our group did not work to a schedule and when I was called up, I couldn't tell my partner how long I'd be gone, or where, or what I'd be doing. All SOP, of course, except Task Force 75, the group I'm part of, is so secretive that even we, the members, don't know if we exist at any point in time.

The team is only put together when it's needed and once the mission is over, it's disbanded and the next time it's called, I would find myself teamed up with different operatives.

Taakforce 77 grew out of Task Force 88, the little-known anti-terrorist unit that is made up of US special operations guys and UK's Special Forces.

Trent Kort, who used to be in the British Special Forces before joining MI-6, had recruited a group from DEVGRU (my SEAL team), the CIA's Special Activities Division and several SAS guys. Whereas Task Force 88, or TF88, for short, was commanded by the CO of Delta Force, Task Force 77 was commanded by Trent. Like TF88, TF77 operated autonomously and is even more covert than TF88. Even SEAL Team 6 whose existence had been long denied, is now acknowledged as DEVGRU. Some basic information about TF88 can be found through Wikipedia but TF77 is completely black. We don't know who the members in a particular mission are until we meet at the designated point in time and location.

Another differential from Task Force 88 is that all the members of TF77are wolf shifters. We undertake assignments where our abilities as shifters would be an advantage over the humans, such as night missions where our sight far exceeds what NVGs can give.

Early in the dawn of Time, shifters were created for the purpose of intervening covertly in human affairs to ensure those dumb humans did not annihilate themselves. Over the millennia, shifters themselves had become such a part of the human colony that in modern times we rarely ever shift to wolf form, as we used to do back in the old days.

There is no need for us to shift much now. As society got more urbanized, it became impractical to do so, if not unnecessary. There are less places now for wolves to run and hunt. Often, the only open space for miles around was a park in the city. In order to experience life in wolf form, shifters have to wait until our annual vacation then head to special resorts that catered only to shifters - in Canada or Alaska where there are half a dozen or so shifter resorts. There, shifter families meet each other and the adults sign up for run-and-hunts while their pups are in shifter training class.

Shifters may have amalgamated with human society but we have also learnt the wisdom of keeping our true nature to ourselves. It is this that makes shifters gravitate towards counter-intelligence, special ops, and law enforcement agencies that involve undercover work. Like the DEA, or vice. And, of course, the special forces.

Like all young, male shifters, once I completed my shifter orientation program, I focused on practical, day-to-day issues like continuing to live amongst humans and avoiding detection. It was the female shifters who invariably had an interest in further shifter studies - counseling, shifter culture, and the supernatural. I hardly knew anything about the supernatural. All I knew was it existed since I am evidence of it but have never been interested enough in it beyond accepting that certain - maybe all? - events and destinies have been pre-ordained.

In any case, the world I had immersed myself in was very down-to-earth and the only supernatural thing about it was how those motherfucking terrorists survived. Were there shifter terrorists? Probably, but so far I do not know of any organized group of shifter terrorists such as that found in the human world.

 

_**Somewhere in Afghanistan** _

It's another night out in the middle of nowhere. All I see are the stars in the inky-black sky. My thoughts turn to Tony and I wonder if he misses me.

We'd had sex only one night after we met then I'd taken off. After that, we'd get together as often as our jobs allowed us. Both of us were often called away on assignments that could last months in a foreign country. In my case, the places I ended up in often cut me off from civilization, as a Westerner knows it, where telecommunication is unreliable, if even available.

When I'd taken Tony to bed,  I'd expected it to be just another casual fuck. I wasn't expecting to enjoy his company as much as I did. I also found myself arranging to meet up with him as our schedules permitted. It would be two days in London, three in Dubai, one in Shanghai, eighteen hours in Athens, before we each adjourned to our next assignment's destination. Most times he could tell me where he'd be and what he was doing.

I couldn't return the courtesy.

It was very odd that I tell him I would miss him each time we kissed goodbye. I'm a wolf shifter so it takes us one whole month of daily monogamous sex with another shifter before we are tied sexually and emotionally. Until then, shifters and sex are like popcorn at movies. Sure, we can still enjoy a movie without popcorn and so a shifter can enjoy friendship with another shifter, male or female, without the popcorn - but we invariably add the popcorn because sex is a free and easy aspect of shifter life. We do not have the sexual neuroses or prejudices that plague the human race.

In my case, because I'm not at a stage in my life where I can bond and take on a life-mate, I just have popcorn. And lots of it. That said, when shifters meet for the first time, we instinctively assess each other for potential fuckmates. This takes the form of literal sniffing and licking, unlike humans who depend on eye contact and other subtle cues.

We learn about sexual etiquette at shifter orientation class just so that we don't go waving our dicks at everyone we're attracted to, so to speak. Humans have laws against such things and being fully-integrated into human society, we have to live and act like them unless we're in an exclusively shifter setting, or in private.

We are taught to be careful at work and reminded that we are working in a mainly human environment and there are laws against sexual harassment and rules about fraternization. Not that we don't get around it somehow. We're just mindful, that's all.

When I first met Trent, he fucked me over his desk in his office at MI-6 as soon as we were alone. Not only was I attracted to him, I was flattered that the Alpha-1 of the European shifters found me sexy, or so he told me several times after each fuck. Neither of us were seeing anyone special. He was too busy for a serious relationship whilst I was just a horny young SEAL. Our sexual liaison continued for several years but at no time did either of us contemplate bonding with each other. Both Trent and I had sexual liaisons with other people, and so did Tony.

So it came as a surprise to me when I suddenly started thinking about bonding with Tony, and the more I thought about it, the more it felt right. Before I talked to Tony, though, I needed to talk to Trent because bonding with a mate meant major changes at work. Trent might even tell me I had to resign.

o     o     o

 

The opportunity to speak to Trent presented itself a few years later. I had completed a long-running mission and reported back to London. I needed some downtime so Trent took me up to his country home in the Lake District.

"Hey," he said, an hour out of London.

"What?" I asked.

"Is there anything you've wanted out of our relationship that you haven't gotten?"

I frowned. "No....not really. You have something in mind?"

"Just being mindful," Trent replied. "We've been fucking on and off for a over ten years now. I'm just wondering if you wanted to bond."

Surprise registered in my expression. "I...'ve not considered it. Do you? Want to, I mean? With _me_?"

"If you mean whether I'm in love with you, then heavens, no." He grinned, white teeth flashing in that perpetually tanned face.

"Neither am I with you," I said, relieved. Trent was a fantastic lover, Not classically handsome, but sexy in that lethal-looking way of his. He knew how to push all my sexual buttons and enjoyed my penchant for multiple partners, but while we were sexually compatible, we never fell in love. "Why is that, do you know? I mean we enjoy sex with each other and we've been at it for a decade, as you pointed out. How come neither of us want something more?"

"I've heard it happens when you've been marked for someone else."

"Yeah, I've heard that, too, but never took it seriously," I said. "Do you have someone else you think you're meant for?"

Trent chuckled. "No. If I were, I'd be with him by now. Or her."

I knew Trent was bisexual and I'd seen him with a few very attractive women before.

"Always thought it was just mumbo jumbo." I said. "This bonding thing." I waited a few seconds then asked, "Is it possible for me to have met and bonded with my life-mate before I shifted?"

"Of course. You just wouldn't know it, that's all. Say you're 17 and your girlfriend - or boyfriend, in your case - is 15. Even if he turns out to be your life-mate, you wouldn't know until both of you have shifted. You'd have to wait 3 years to find out."

"Does every shifter have a life-mate?" I asked, curious about mine.

"Yes."

" _Every_ shifter?"

"Every shifter."

"How would I know he's a shifter if he's over 18 and he didn't shift while we were together?" I thought of Jethro. He hadn't shifted during the four years we were together but it didn't mean he wasn't a shifter. It could be a well-kept secret where he was concerned. Unless we met someone at a shifter function, we wouldn't know he, or she, was a shifter. We don't have any secret handshake or secret symbol that I know of.

"Shifters secrete a special pheromone detectable only by his, or her, mate. The two pheromone sets lock in on each other. That's how. Remember once you shift your Quadrant Alpha would know and you'd be taken to your quad hq to be assigned to a local pack. Just as you were."

"I was taken to the North-West quadrant headquarters. I was told that's where I was originally from."

Trent blew out a breath. "Yes, it's a pity we still haven't found a way to detect underaged shifters. Our database only holds known shifters. So orphaned shifters do slip through the cracks. As you did. We were aware of your existence, of course, but had no way to find you until you shifted at 18."

"How does that work? How would you know someone has shifted?"

"Hmmph." Trent grunted then smiled, casting me a sidelong look. "It's one of those mumbo jumbo things you don't believe in. We have two powerful and distinct pheromones. The sexual one that I mentioned earlier and the shifter pheromone. Once someone shifts, he emits an extra-strong dose of shifter pheromones. It's so powerful the shifter guardians are alerted and the tracking commences. It can take a few weeks to track down a new shifter but in your case your shifter pheromones were so powerful we were able to follow it right to your doorstep within twelve hours. Literally."

I shook my head. "Whoa. That's...incredible."

Trent threw me another sidelong glance. "That's an inordinate amount of interest in bonding, all of a sudden. Perhaps you should tell me what this is _really_ about."

I guess I ought to have known better than to think Trent didn't know about Jethro just because he's never mentioned my past. As head of one of  MI-6's covert divisions, and Alpha-1 of the European wolf packs, he knows stuff about me _I_ don't even know about.

"Jethro," was all I said. I knew elaboration wasn't necessary.

There was a very slight pause before he asked, "What about him?" Not even a flicker of surprise.

"Everything you can tell me, I wanna know."

A longer pause this time, then - "All I can tell you is that he's a wolf shifter, too."

I felt a relief that was so huge, a loud sigh was expelled from me. "Shit, Trent! Can't or _won't_ tell me?"

"Can't. Of course. I would not withhold information without a good reason just as I wouldn't give it unnecessarily."

"Can you tell me where he is?" I wanted to ask if Jethro tried looking for me but I didn't. Too self-conscious. And what if the answer was ‘no'? I'd be embarrassed. Hurt. Quietly devastated, so hell if I was going to let that show.

"He's an NCIS special agent. He leads the Major Crimes Response Team."

"Well, hell." I grinned. "A Fed. Why did he leave the Marines? When?"

"Two years after you left DC."

"Where did he go?"

"Joined NCIS. That's the Naval Criminal Investigation Service."

"Huh. Navy cops." I couldn't help myself. I had to ask. "Do you know if he looked for me?"

"He did," Trent replied. "He and Shannon, your other guardian, even hired a private detective, but you know how it goes - once you're part of the pack family, you're fully protected and literally off the grid, if need be. Your existence was kept secret and you were groomed and trained for special operations. Even now, your existence isn't in the general shifter database."

"How is Shannon? Kelly? She must be in her twenties now."

"Shannon's dead. So's Kelly. They were killed shortly after you left."

I was stunned, of course, and demanded to know how and why. Jethro would have been devastated. "Is he married?"

"No."

"Why did you have to hide Jethro from me if he's also a shifter? It's obvious you all - whoever the ‘all' is - knew about my relationship with Jethro from the start. Yet no one has ever mentioned it. Why?"

Again another pause before Trent answered. "Because he hadn't shifted then."

"That's right!" I exclaimed. "He was in his mid-twenties when we met and if he'd shifted, I would have known, wouldn't I? The minute I turned 18, but I didn't get any of that pheromone thing you were telling me about. Why not? We both should have."

"That's all I'm going to say about Jethro," Trent said. "Shut up now and enjoy the scenery."

o     o     o

 

Wow. Jethro was a shifter. That was great. So was knowing that he looked for me; had even hired a private detective.

What wasn't great but strange was why he hadn't shifted yet when we met. He was already 24 so he ought to have shifted six years before. I shifted when I turned 18 but a few weeks later since our Shiftday can be any day in our 18th year. How come Jethro, being a shifter, did not shift at 18? And speaking of pheromones, that would explain the intensity of my feelings for Tony. Really? Tony was my life-mate? I stole a look at Trent, but didn't ask. He, however, was obviously a mind-reader because, without taking his eyes off the road, said, " _Don't_ ask. When the time comes you'll know everything."

"Okay, but I have another question," I said. "Not about...Jethro."

"Who, then?"

"Tony."

"What about him?"

"I...uhm...like him. A lot. We've been meeting up as much as we can since Libya. We just spent a weekend in Paris."

"I know."

Of course he knew, I grumbled to myself.

"And the weekend before in Villefranche, at his turn-of-the-century villa."

I had to bite my tongue from a retort but that didn't help. "What, do you have a tracking device on me? On us?"

He gave me an amused look. "Tony is as important to me as you are. If you're both fucking, I'd want to know."

"Why?"

"You may both be shifters but Tony's a malawere. You can have the best fuck of your life and still walk away quite happily onto the next. Tony can't. Malaweres bond easily and they bond for life."

"So Tony and I could even bond?" I asked. _But what about Jethro?_ _Could I find Jethro and see if we could pick up where we left off?_ "I do feel the bonding thing, you know. For Tony."

Trent's brow quirked up as he looked at me. "That's...unusual. Not impossible, just not common."

"What isn't? Me bonding with a malawere?"

"Yes. Most bondings are within the species...but there have been inter-bondings. My sister is bonded to a cobra. Got him wrapped around her little finger." He chuckled. "Anyway, I'm happy to hear about Tony because I can tell you _he_ feels it strongly."

"You've talked to Tony? About us?"

"Once or twice, when you were out of town," Trent replied.

So, we have your...um, blessing?" I asked. "It'll mean a change in my working arrangements. No more long separations." Trent didn't answer and I continued with my questions. "And what about Jethro? I feel the same bond with him. I know I never mentioned it but that's only because I didn't know he was a shifter and to be honest, I don't know much about the whole bonding thing. How can I feel a bonding with Tony and also for Jethro? I haven't seen Jethro in -"

"Shut up, Jonas," Trent said abruptly. "I need to think."

o     o     o

 

Trent' country home is on island on Lake Winderemere, a five-hour drive from London. The island is the largest on the lake, with Trent' house the sole residence. There are several, smaller buildings for the caretaker and storehouses.

I knew that Trent stayed here two or three times a year and we have spent every Christmas here since we became lovers. Trent loved walking and hiking so that was what we did a lot of if we happened to visit during the warmer months. Other than that, we spent our time discussing international affairs, and missions we had undertaken, or were planning. He would have friends and associates over, and when there were those he did not want me to meet, I made myself scarce by driving to the neaby towns and villages, often scoring a fuck or two before heading back.

Of course I would tell Trent all about it when I got home, just as he would share his encounters with me.

Today, however, he was preoccupied following our conversation about Jethro and bonding. And Tony. We didn't talk anymore after he told me to shut up but we were almost at our destination so I let it pass. He was still wearing a frown when I joined him in his study after unpacking so I let him be. He got on the phone moments later, speaking in an undertone. Something was developing.

Mrs. Muir, the housekeeper, served a high tea of mushrooms-on-toast as well as freshly-baked cupcakes and a plate of chopped chicken liver and onions in little puff pastry shells. It didn't sound appetizing when she described it to me but I'm a US Navy SEAL. I can eat chopped liver and smile.

They were, actually, pretty good. Trent was still on the phone, his second call since we arrived, and whoever he was talking to, whatever the topic was, it must be serious because when the call ended, he strode to the door, locked it then said to me, "Come here."

An hour later, he'd turned my butt a deep pink from the rather intense session of spanking, and fucking me doggy style next to a ten-foot tall mirror, commanding me to watch. Later. Much later, he picked me up off the carpeted floor and nestled me on his lap in his armchair. Not easy to do with a six-foot two SEAL. But Trent made it look easy and natural.

"Now, let's talk about Tony," he said.

"And Jethro?"

"Maybe a little," Trent acceded.

 

\------------

**TBC**

\------------

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all for now. I'll post more next weekend.


	14. PART THREE: TONY & JONAS - CHAPTER 14

 

PART THREE - CHAPTER 14

**TONY & JONAS**

 

 

 

**TONY'S POV**

 I get a lot of these nights where sleep eludes me. I feel out of sorts. A misfit. Malaweres don't get the blues. Not these lingering ones. When we do get down, we know to reach out and we do. We have a strong network of friends and family who keep in regular contact. With all this, it's no wonder I feel like a misfit because _my_ parents don't visit, though they do call once every two weeks, and my friends don't drop in as much as they do their other malawere friends. I must also be the only malawere who doesn't have some party or gathering to attend every weekend. Now that I'm working for Trent in that secret unit of his, I haven't had time to see Crispin as much as I used to. Crispin understands, of course, though as far as he knows, I'm still attached to the US Embassy. He knows nothing about Trent, or that I report to the head of MI-6.

Anyway, I've been feeling pretty miserable lately. The weather is horrible. It's cold, and it's snowing. The last time it snowed in London was in the late ‘80s. Naturally, there's chaos in the capital with many people late, or unable to get to work. More than a hundred flights at Heathrow have been cancelled and Gatwick's runway has been closed. Most of the snow turns to a dirty mush in no time and I'm wondering if I ought return home to DC; to a house I had a fondness for and set amidst the woods and the Potomac. I love the city life, but I prefer to live in the suburbs. If I had a home surrounded by greenery but less an hour's drive from the city, which my DC home is, I'd be perfectly content. Hmm, no. Perfect contentment requires Jethro in the mix.

And now that I have these feelings for Jonas...

I miss Jonas. I miss Jethro. I have a good life but it also sucks. And I'm whining. So _not_ hot in a grown man.

I have not seen Jethro in twenty years. Malawere or not, it's ridiculous to be yearning for someone who's likely forgotten me. Or, if he hasn't, obviously has no interest in hooking up again or he would have.

So, more rational to think about Jonas.

o     o     o

And so life goes on. Month by month, year after year. It gets repetitive and is causing me to be restless and the sense of unfulfillment making me grouchy and short-tempered.

Even Trent is getting annoyed with me. He is usually unflappable and extraordinarily patient. It takes a lot for him to be abrupt so I must have become quite the pain in the butt for him to snap at me, "I know you're a malawere but could you do everyone about you a favor and go fuck someone? I'll arrange it for you, if you like."

I politely decline, of course, and make it a point to rein in my moods. I am 36 already. I want to settle down. I don't want to be escaping from Islamic militants or crazy dictators, dragging along my terrorized charges assuring them we'd get out of whatever hellhole we happened to be in.

Before I know it, I'll be 40 and staring at a house that's empty but for me. That kind of life is for vampires, who love solitude. Even wolf shifters need the company of mates, what more a malawere? I could go out and bond with another malawere and bring this lonely existence to an end but I can't. My destiny is chained to...I sighed, not sure what to think. I know my future is shackled to someone...something...I know my heart is still very much bound to Jethro, even if just the memory of him. But Jethro isn't a shifter as far as I know, much less a malawere. Then there's Jonas. In the human's perspective, wolves, coyotes and dogs are the same species and the wolf is believed to be the ancestor of the domesticated dog. Not so in shifterdom. The three are considered totally separate species. And separate species do not experience that whole bonding thing with each other because we secrete different type of pheromones, apparently. My bonding pheromone would not zero in on a wolf's because his would be as different from mine as a feline's.

Which is why I don't understand my feelings for Jonas. I couldn't possibly be experiencing the bonding pull for a wolf, nor he for me but the latter I know full well. Alright, perhaps my desire for Jonas is just a regular attraction, a conscious decision to be his permanent partner the way humans decide to marry each other. Except that Jonas wants to remain fuck buddies for life. I'm considering him as my life-mate while the man I've been in love with since I was 16 couldn't care less. Didn't I say my life sucked?

Then Jonas came home.


	15. PART THREE: TONY & JONAS - CHAPTER 15

 

** PART THREE - CHAPTER 15 **

**TONY & JONAS**

 

 

 

_**One Evening in Summer, 2015;** _

_**Battersea Park, London** _

 

**JONAS' POV**

"You moved!" I said, as Tony parked in a single lot within the house compound which was fenced-off from the street, unlike the other townhouses here.

"I did," Tony confirmed.

"When?" I asked.

"Five months ago."

My brows rose when a mocha-colored giant opened the front door and a smile split his face.

"Masta! You are home." The chocolate giant gave Tony a bow then turned to me. "Greetings and welcome to our humble abode, Masta Jonas." Another bow. A brief one. "Long time no see. Two years, two months...and fifteen days. Mebbe you stay longer than three days this time but I wouldn't bet on it."

"Cut it out, Zolar," Tony said to the other man. "I'm hoping to keep him a little longer, not chase him away."

"What's he doing here?" I asked. The last time I saw Zolar was in Cairo where he was escaping from a gang about to beat him to a pulp.

"Driver. Bodyguard. Butler. Man Friday. Whatever I need him to be," Tony replied.

"How did you end up with him?"

"He was assigned to me after I got him out of trouble. He makes himself very useful...once you get used to him."

I wasn't sure about that. As far as I knew, Zolar provoked the attack by propositioning one of the gang members. "How long have you had him?"

"Two years, two months and -"

"Fifteen days, Masta," Zolar added, taking my duffel bag from the car. "I will prepare your evening cocktail, Masta, and serve dinner at the usual time?"

"Seven too early for dinner?" Tony asked me.

"Seven's fine," I replied, used to eating at any time. Besides, there was a lot I wanted to talk to Tony about.

Was I too late, I wondered, as we stepped into the house.

"Then let's get you settled and let Zolar impress you with his cocktail-mixing skills," Tony said. "After that, he'll wow you with his culinary talents and _then_ , I'll show you what _I'm_ a masta of." He winked at me, adding, "Just in case you've forgotten."

  _No, not too late,_ I smiled to myself. _  
_

o     o     o

 

There is a kind of innocence in Tony that just melts me. He's so open in his lovemaking, so trusting...and seeing that just makes me so filled with want. It's also making me feel things for him that I've never felt for anyone but Jethro. In fact, my feelings for both these men are so similar, I could have believed that Tony was a kind of reincarnation of Jethro. Only that means Jethro would be dead so I don't want that.

I'm buried deep inside Tony and each drag of my cock along his channel is sending me into ecstasy, as is his facial expression. Tony has a way of looking at me with such blatant desire on his face, his hunger for my cock, his yearning for me to take him to the edge that sex with him every time is a challenge to my self-control.

I want, sometimes, to have leisurely sex with him. I want us to take our time, to not hurry anything, to not even have to climax. But it never goes that route the moment we touch. We're always frantic for each other, as if we've taken all the stress and tension from the battlefield of our latest mission and let it run in each fuck session. Perhaps it's the knowledge that it could be the last one. Perhaps it's our need for each other increasing each time. I don't know but my talk with Trent had changed everything and for the first time, I dare to hope for something more with Tony.

This last separation was our longest. I'd been deep undercover in Pakistan and Afghanistan and by the time my mission was over, I looked no different from the populace I'd been living amongst, what with my naturally-tanned skin, black hair and green eyes - not uncommon in those regions - and my thick beard. I cut my hair and shaved the beard off before I returned to London, of course.

o     o     o

 

Later, much, much later...when we were already in bed, curled up around each other, he told me about Zolar.

"He's an Egyptian jackal shifter, even though the name, Zolar, is likely Zulu in origin."

"Egyptian jackals, in case you didn't know," I interjected. "Have been reclassified as a gray wolf."

Tony was surprised. "Really?"

"Yup. It's now called the African Gray Wolf, and an endangered species."

"Huh. How about that. I don't know much about jackal and coyote shifters. Malaweres stay away from them, too, but -"

"Tony," I interrupted him. "How long have we been together?"

"Um...we met in 2008 so seven years now, give or take a couple of months."

Several seconds of silence filled the air as both of us let that sink in. Seven years. That was a helluva long time to stay together and not even make a commitment. It was unnatural for shifters unless you were in the Special Forces or worked undercover a lot. Which was me, unfortunately.

"I miss you when I'm away," I said, finally.

"I miss you, too," Tony replied, snuggling closer and making those cute malamute sounds. "A lot more than I thought I would," he added.

"What does that mean?" I asked, not telling him I felt the same way. I wanted to hear it from him first.

He disentangled himself from me and sat up. " Jonas, there's something I need to tell you. It...doesn't affect you, at least I don't think it does, but it's important to me." He raked his fingers through his hair, started to talk then halted abruptly. "Damn, I need a drink." He jumped out of bed and left the bedroom.

"Hey -!" I rushed after him, not bothering to put on any clothes either. Zolar had come out of his room - _he_ was dressed - and had followed Tony and me down the stairs to the living room, not blinking an eye that we were both stark naked.

"It's okay, Zolar," I heard Tony say. "We just wanted a drink."

Zolar had left as silently as he'd appeared. I waited for Tony to pour our drinks, expecting him to join me on the couch but he sat diagonally across from me, in a fat armchair. I tensed. It wasn't a good sign if what he had to say had to be said out of touching distance.

Touching. That had been the one unique feature of our relationship. I didn't like touching other people, or being touched. Only two people in my life have I enjoyed...craved...their touch. Tony...and Jethro. Even Trent and I did not touch much outside of sex. No, I didn't like the look of this at all.

"I'm going to come right out and say this," Tony began. "I love you, Jonas, and...and I want to bond with you."

He stopped there and I cocked my head at him. "That's it?" My heart must have restarted because I was sure it had stopped when Tony rushed out of the bedroom. "And that sent you fleeing for a shot of vodka before you could vocalize it? What's so hard about telling me you want to bond? I do, too."

"You do?" Tony asked. "How come? I mean, how is that possible? You know - that whole shifter genetics. Wolves don't mate with canine shifters even though in the non-shifter world, wolves do mate with canids."

"I dunno, Tony," I replied. "I don't even know if it's the bonding pheromone that's pulling us together. I only know I want to be our relationship a permanent one."

"You don't mean permanent fuck buddies, do you? Because that's not what I want. I told you, I love you. And not in a fuck buddy sense."

I smiled. "I know. That's how I feel, too. I want a commitment. You and I. For keeps."

Tony blew out a heavy breath. "You're a wolf shifter, Jonas. You fuck around. Part of your DNA."

"And you haven't had your share of men when I'm away?" I countered, but gently, because it wasn't an accusation. " _I_ don't need to. Wolf shifters don't _have_ to be promiscuous. The DNA crap about us not able to be monogamous is something malaweres made up."

"Is not."

"Is, too."

We glared at each other then burst out laughing.

"I don't just love you," Tony said. "I think I'm _in_ love with you."

"‘ _Think'_? You're not sure?"

Tony made an exasperated sound. "I am...but maybe...I'm in love with someone else, too."

"What? You can't." I scrambled to sit up. "That's not in _your_ DNA. Malaweres bond for life _monogamously_. So yeah, I don't know what the fuck I'm doing here with you because, damn, I _am_ a _wolf_ shifter and..." I sighed. "And I _am_ in love with you, no matter how much I tried to ignore it." I dragged my hand down my face and took a long swallow of the bourbon. "So whose my competitor? I could fight him for you, if you like. One of those good old ancient fight-to-the-death contests. Winner gets the prize."

"You can't fight him."

"Wanna bet? I want to bond with you. I was planning to ask you this trip but you beat me to it. And yes, I am fully cognizant of the fact that if I bond with a malawere, I will be taking a vow not to fuck anyone else but that's _how_ I love you - I don't want to fuck others, the way wolf shifters do, if I bond with you. So, yeah, I'll fight for you. And I'll win!" I said confidently, then paused as something occurred to me. "It isn't Trent, is it, this other guy?" I asked cautiously, as if approaching a cobra.

"No!" Tony laughed.

I blew out my breath in relief, realizing, as an afterthought, that Trent would have told me if he and Tony were lovers, too. "Then I'm fucking fighting him for you."

"You can't."

"I _can_."

"They won't let you."

"Who's ‘they'?"

"NAFoS."

"What have they got to do with it?"

"Plenty," Tony replied. "Because the other guy is Leroy Jethro Gibbs. He's an NCIS special agent and he's been named by the Seer as the new Alpha-Rex."

I fell back on the bed with a heavy thud. "No shit."

"Yes shit."

"You're in love with _Jethro_? _My_ Jethro?" I asked, incredulous.

Naturally, Tony looked at me strangely. "What do you mean ‘ _your_ ' Jethro?"

 

\------------

**TBC**

\------------

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, but I have to leave you guys at this chapter. Busy weekend and I don't have time to proof-read before posting. I promise to post more chapters next weekend, if not earlier.


	16. PART THREE: TONY & JONAS - CHAPTER 16

 

PART THREE - CHAPTER 16

**TONY & JONAS**

 

 

_**JONAS' POV** _

Tony and I were both totally gobsmacked when we realized we were in love with the same man. We recounted to each other how we met Jethro - he at sixteen and I at fourteen. I told him about life as a foster kid, then as a streetkid, life with Jethro, and life as a member of my wolf pack in Oregon.

In turn, I heard about Tony's privileged life and upbringing. Being loved and cherished by your parents and relatives was something I couldn't identify with. In fact, the whole malawere world was alien to me.

Which made everything even more incredible. I would normally not be socializing with the likes of Tony and to know his history with Jethro - I was dumbfounded. And now he's telling me Jethro is our alpha-rex!

"You know we haven't had an alpha-rex in over two thousand years, don't you?" Tony asked.

"Fuck me. How did you know?"

"A couple of years ago Dad and I were having dinner with Trent and they started talking about the Seer's prophecy - about our new alpha-rex. I almost choked on my steak when they mentioned Jethro's name. Pretended I'd never heard of him and asked a few questions as nonchalantly as I could. But Trent, being Trent, zeroed straight in on me and told me - right in front of Dad! - that the man I spent the night with, back when I was sixteen years old, was our new alpha-rex and that until the time came I was not to contact him but let things play out. He reminded me of our shifter rules concerning these things and that I was to just live one day at a time. That was why I was kept in the dark about Jethro even though they knew all about my meeting him and the three weeks we spent together." Tony paused then added, "To think they knew Jethro was the one who popped my malawere cherry...and left me to wallow in torment all those years."

"So you haven't had _any_ contact with Jethro since then?"

"Nope," Tony replied. "I wanted to, of course, but...Trent Kort being my handler and my father reminding me, albeit subtly, that I needed to let things play out naturally, I didn't really have much of a choice. What about you? Have you been in touch with Jethro at all?"

"No, like you I was told to forget about my time with Jethro."

"Who told you? Trent?"

"And my alphas - my pack leader and the quadrant alpha. I didn't know Jethro was a shifter and I guess I wouldn't have known since I hadn't shifted yet when we started having sex. It was Trent who explained all this to me after I asked him about the shifter bonding stuff."

"When was this?"

"A couple of months ago," I replied. "I was in-between missions...had a few days break and we went to his country house."

"You were back in London?" The accusatory tone was light but there.

"Yes, I couldn't...I -" I struggled for the right words, not wanting Tony to get the wrong idea. "I needed to talk to Trent and I only had two or three days before I had to leave. By then I was certain I wanted you and me to be a permanent thing but I just wasn't sure if it would work. I didn't pay much attention to the shifter genetics and all that bonding stuff during shifter orientation. It was the females who dug that shit. I just wanted to know the extent of my night vision, whether I had like...you know, super powers."

Tony laughed. "Super powers? You're kidding."

"No, I wanted to be a Navy SEAL. If not that then Delta Force. Super powers would help." I grinned and Tony punched my arm. "Okay, seriously - mating and bonding were not in my plans. Anyway, back to that weekend I spent with Trent - he gave me a crash course on the bonding issue. Lectured me on the shifter and bonding pheromones. Did you know that shifters need to mate at least once every twenty-four hours without a break for one lunar cycle in order to bond?"

"Yes, don't you?"

"Told you I didn't pay attention to that in class."

"You know why, don't you?" Tony asked.

"Why I didn't pay attention?" I chuckled at the exasperated look on Tony's face and answered him. "The month-long daily fuck session weeded out couples whose professions took them away from each other too often for long stretches as bonded mates needed each other's physical presence and regular sex to have a sense of well-being. Unlike our human counterparts, shifter mates work together, are teamed together and vacations are scheduled together. Anyway, I learnt another thing I didn't pay attention to in orientation class."

"What?"

"That we shifters can only detect another shifter _after_ both have shifted and that only during sex is the detection confirmed. I just fucked whoever I wanted to and never thought much about it. Besides, I never detected any shifter scent with you when we fucked the first time or after. Hell, I wouldn't know if Trent hadn't told me and I wouldn't have believed it if you hadn't shifted in front of me."

"That's because we are different species as far as shifters go so we can't sniff each other out. The shifter pheromones don't work either."

"Trent told me that, too, when I asked about inter-species bonding. He said it does happen and did you know his sister is bonded with a falcon shifter?"

"She is? Cool."

I nodded. "But I don't understand how that works if different species do not detect the bonding pheromones."

"You mean Trent's sister chose her hawk shifter life-mate from a conscious choice rather then a genetic predisposition?"

"Would have to be, wouldn't it?"

"Then that's what you and I are," Tony concluded. "Our decision to bond is that - a decision. Not because we don't have a choice."

"No, I don't think that's right either. See, that's why I don't pay any mind to this bonding issue. It's so complicated and messes with my head."

"If the bonding "rules"," Tony made quotation marks with his fingers, "are true, then that's how it is for you and me. And me and Jethro but not for you and Jethro because you're both wolf shifters. Your desire for Jethro could be a real shifter bond. Did you ask Trent?"

"Sure I did but he refused to say anymore about Jethro."

"Maybe we should confront Trent together and make him tell us what's going on with the three of us."

" _Make_ Trent Kort talk?" I snorted. "That's one guy who won't reveal a thing even if you gut him and feed his intestines down his throat."

"I'm sure we can persuade him, especially now that you and I are a couple and I know he doesn't want to lose you. Or me. I happen to possess unique skills."

"Oh yeah, like what?"

"Like being to negotiate and get a mutually-beneficial outcome - which wolf shifters can't because you don't believe in negotiation. At the same time, I have no qualms eliminating an opponent off the face of the earth - something regular malaweres have difficulty doing. You, of all people would know what one second of hesitation means."

"So..."I grinned. "I'm in love with a very special shifter."

"Not to be immodest, but yes, you are, and said unique shifter loves you back. I completed my shifting in six months whereas it takes one year for all shifters of all species."

Okay, I was impressed. "You mean you could shift without feeling as if you were being torn apart?"

"Yup, _and_ shift at will."

"At six months?" Tony nodded, looking justifiably smug. "Whoa.That's impressive shit."

"I think so, which is why I'm puzzled as to why I didn't detect anything in Jethro."

"Ditto," I said. "I asked Trent about that but he refused to tell me why.

"You think he could be unique like me? Trent and Dad told me there's no other malawere with my makeup. It's as if I were part wolf. So maybe Jethro has some quirks because he's the alpha-rex."

"What kind of quirks?" I asked, my interest truly piqued now.

"I know a wolf shifter who's a vegan."

"You're kidding me. A _vegan_ wolf shifter? There's no such thing."

"See, you find that incredible."

"Abnormal's more the word," I said, disgusted. "A vegan wolf...!"

"Not when he's in shifted form, like when he attends shifter functions and everyone is in shifted form. Then he reverts to a carnivore. Otherwise, when he's in human form, he's a vegan."

"So you think Jethro's an abberation?"

Tony nodded. "Very possible. Something's not regular, anyway. Otherwise, why all the secrecy? Anyway, the word ‘Abberation' used to have negative connotations for me but now, I feel good being one." He came over and kissed me. "I learn something every day." he mused. "So how did you find out Jethro's a shifter?"

"Trent told me, before he told me to shut up. I was asking him about the shifter stuff...how we bond, how we know someone is our life-mate...that shit. Being Trent, he knew there was more to my questions and asked me pointblank so I told him about Jethro, which he already knew about." Tony's brows lifted at that. "Yup. He knew about you and me before I told him."

"Shouldn't surprise us," Tony said. "He has eyes like a chameleon."

"What about you? What else did Trent tell you that he wouldn't tell me?"

"I guess no harm telling you, now that you're going to be my life-mate," Tony said,  flashing me a grin. "Anyway, as soon as Trent told me the guy I fucked when I was sixteen was the prophesied alpha-rex, I concluded Jethro had been been monitored since he was born, and would be under constant surveillance until he's officially instated."

"That's how they knew about me and Jethro," I said. "They knew where to find me and when they told me to get on with my life _for now_ , like there was more going on than they wanted to tell me."

"What I don't get is why they didn't want us contacting him at all. I have questions! Like is he married? He must be. He'd be fifty years old already."

"He's not married," I said. "One of the few things Trent would reveal. Anyway, Jethro's a wolf shifter and about to be king. He'd have fucked his way through the packs by now. Except me." I could feel myself deflating. "Besides, I don't think the Council want the future king consorting with an ex-hooker."

"You were a hooker?" Tony's eyes went wide. "You told me you were a streetkid."

"I rented my body out when I had to. That bother you?"

"No. Just intrigued."

"Well, I was a rentboy. For about three years until I met Jethro."

"Yes, you were fourteen, you said." Tony leaned in to kiss me. "Hey, I'm sure the Shifter Council doesn't think any more highly of malaweres than they do hookers."

I chuckled. "Probably not. Anyway, I got the feeling from Trent that once he's king, there'd be no reason to stop us from contacting him. And, remember, he's not married."

"And there's no pressure on him to do so because alpha-rexes are pre-ordained, they do not inherit the throne. Also, as an alpha-rex, he'll live longer than normal shifters. Maybe a thousand like the Seer. You think we will be able to meet him eventually?"

"Yes, but when exactly, I don't know," I replied. "Trent clammed up again after that. You know - I can't see Jethro as an alpha-rex. He couldn't be further from my idea of a king. He's a loner. When I was with him, he spent most of time in his basement making ancient weapons - crossbows, guillotines...he even built a galleon. A pirate ship! A small one. Still took up his entire basement."

"How did he get it out?"

I shrugged. "I dunno. I was living with Shannon at the time and he came over to our place mostly. I saw him starting work on it then a few months later he told me he'd finished it. I went over to take a look. It was awesome. Had sails and all."

"Pirate flag?"

"Of course," I replied. "He painted the skull and crossbones in phosphorescent paint so when I descended the basement stairs, there it was. Glowing in the dark."

"Cool!"

"When I moved in with him on my eighteenth birthday it was no longer there. I asked him how he got it out but he wouldn't tell me. Said it would remain one of the universe's mysteries."

"Huh. Probably stripped it down for firewood."

"You don't think he's alpha-rex material?" I asked.

"Not if it's like being a king in this day and age," Tony replied. "They don't do much except to have their photos taken, their social and personal lives covered by the press and I know Jethro would hate that. But the commoners love that. We Americans, especially. Shifters or not, I'm sure we'd love to have a king and a queen. "

"I don't think he'd want me as his queen," I said. "I wouldn't look good in a long dress and a crown."

Tony laughed. "Me neither. Nor do I want to see you in a dress - any dress.

"So, what now?" I asked.

"Now...we have each other." Tony smiled, a little sadly. "It's -" his voice caught. "It's been so long but I can't forget him. I know we've been told to let it go, that he's got a new life. One that obviously doesn't include us or we wouldn't have been told to stay away. But...I still miss him after all these years."

"Same here. I miss him so much it hurts sometimes. You think it's because we're pre-bonded to him?" I asked. "Nah, forget I asked that. It's silly."

"Maybe not. Maybe very possible."

"Probable?" I asked.

"Even that. Yeah. I mean, why else would we be still feeling this way about him despite the years of separation?"

We broke into a grin as the truth hit us.

"Of course!" I exclaimed. "That's why Trent was okay with talking about you, but not about Jethro."

 Tony glared at me. "Is there more the two of you talked about that you haven't told me?"

"Yeah, I tell you when it comes up in my head," I said. "I've got a lot to absorb, okay?"

"Try to remember."

I was about to say something when I stopped abruptly, my eyes widening.

"What?" Tony asked, seeing my expression.

"Has Trent been fucking you, too?"

"What? No! He's never made a move on me or I on him."

"Okay. Just curious. Anyway, we were together for a few days, just chilling and I started to ask him about bonding and life-mates. I was trying to understand my feelings about Jethro and for you. I didn't know how I could feel so deeply for two men. It kinda freaked me out, to be honest. Then he warned me about how I didn't want to go messing with malaweres because, well, you know wolf shifters - we want to fuck anything we find attractive and wolf shifters tend to have more than one life-mate. Fucking you is okay. _Bonding_ with you is not. Unless I can pay the price."

"No more fucking around."

"Right. The fact that I wanted to bond with you, despite the price, ought to tell him something."

"Tells _me_ something," Tony said, and pulled me into an embrace.

"Let me finish," I said and extricated myself. "I asked him at the end of our discussion on the bonding habits of malaweres versus wolf shifters, and whether it was possible for malaweres to bond with more than one life-mate." I drew in a deep breath and nuzzled Tony's neck.

"Nope, it's not," Tony said before I could continue.

"And Trent said, ‘no, _except_ in the case of  the prophesied alpha-rex."

"What?" Tony shoved me away and I tumbled off the couch. "What did he mean by that?"

"Hey!" I scrambled off the floor. "Apparently, if you are bonded to the alpha-rex, he would not be your only life-mate because, as you know, wolf shifters take more than one life-mate and in this instance, you, a malawere, would desire to bond with the alpha-rex's other mates. too."

 "Really?" Tony stood up. "He really said that?"

"Yes, and that only the alpha-rex will bond with a malawere and a wolf shifter. I asked him if Jethro had anyone in the running as a mate yet and he said "it's complicated."

"What the fuck?" Tony spat out. He started pacing the room. "Let me get this straight - Trent knows the alpha-rex-to-be is Jethro, that he's currently an NCIS special agent, that both you and I have slept with him and he tells you but not me?"

I shrugged but Tony wasn't done.

"He tells _you_ all about bonding with malaweres, knowing full well you and I have been together for nine years and never hinted to me that he knew? Then you ask him about malaweres bonding with more than one and he knows you're talking about me by now. And then he throws you this curved ball about the alpha-rex bonding with a malawere _and_ a wolf shifter..."

"And gives me the connection," I concluded for Tony. "Without actually saying so."

"Damn." Tony spat out. "He's trying to tell us we're Jethro's life-mates without actually telling us outright! Why?"

"I think Trent himself wasn't sure whether he _could_ tell us. We know we've been kept in the dark all these years but something must have happened to make him decide he could tell us _some_ thing. I remember when we were talking about Jethro, he had a couple of phone calls. It did sound like he was monitoring some situation closely. In-between calls, he'd be preoccupied, very abrupt with me if I interrupted his thinking."

"You think whatever he was monitoring had something to do with his telling us about Jethro?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I do."

o     o     o

 

"So, what's our best strategy?" Tony asked, as we chewed over what we'd concluded. Dinner had been delicious and I made sure to send Zolar my compliments. Dessert was consumed during sex. Afterwards, we talked and cuddled in bed - something Tony always wants to do.

Tony burrowed in close. The room was chilly. The clock showed it was close to three in the morning. "It's weird, I know," Tony said. "That we're like second-best to each other. I mean, that's being honest. I can't lie to you, Jonas. I love you, and yeah, I want to bond with you...but -;"

"But I know how you feel," I said. "I don't think I could have made it through life if I hadn't met you. And that's not just gratitude talking. You're more than that. You're Need. Yearning. Smiles. Cuddles. Ice-cream in hot holes -"

"That doesn't sound anywhere as appealing as it is in reality."

"Shut up. I'm trying to be romantic, dude." I laughed. "I can't lie to you either. Jethro is something to me that you're not. You...complete the picture."

 "I do? How?"

"Well, Jethro has always been the Dominant half and me, the submissive," I replied. "Not that we took on those roles deliberately like those BDSM aficionados. Just that our personalities fell that way once we started to fuck. We automatically assumed those roles subconsciously. He'd always the top."

"And that's not us," Tony said.

 "No, it's not." I said. Both Tony and I preferred bottoming so we had to switch. I looked away pensively for a moment. "That's why I strongly believe we have a special connection to Jethro. It can't be just a meaningless coincidence that the two of us would have hooked up with him when we were both in our teens, then we both stumble onto each other's paths and are here, today, still together. And then find out about Jethro being the alpha-rex."

"And him not mated yet," Tony added. "I wish there was someone who could confirm our suspicion since Trent won't. I know!" Tony brightened, snapping his fingers. "The Seer!"

 "The Seer?" I echoed. "Never met him. Have you?"

"Yeah." 

"What's he like? Tall, thin, wears a long robe? Long white beard? Lives on the top of some sacred mountain?"

Tony laughed. "That's Christopher Lee's Saruman from Lord of the Rings. No, the Seer lives in a beachhouse in Key West and wears shorts and a tattered tee, if even that. My Dad took me to see him six months after my 13th birthday. And the old fella - do you know he's over a thousand years old or something?"

"He is? I thought only vampires lived that long."

"Nope. My Dad told me the Seer is at least that. Besides vampires are immortal. So, anyway, the Seer's the only prophet around. Not like those Charismatic megachurches that churn out prophets by the ton."

"Does he have a name?" I asked.

"Not that I know of."

"How did you address him, then?"

"I just said ‘sir'. Didn't hear my Dad address him by name. They just hugged and I think Dad said ‘Seer'. Or it could have been ‘Sir'. Doesn't matter."

"You think we could go see him?"

Tony thought about that then said. "Let's see what Trent says first. If he still won't tell us then no point seeing the Seer because I doubt he would."

"Tony..." I began.

"What?"

"I'm not just wanting to talk to Trent about bonding with you." I kissed him. "I'm going to tell him I'm resigning. I want out."

Tony looked me for a long while then said, "We both, then. They've had some good years with us. Time for us to start taking our lives back."

"We could always tell him we're available for special assignments, provided we do them together."

"I guess, but I really like the sound of you and me taking permanent time out. We'll go do some wonderfully mundane stuff together. Like grocery-shopping, cooking dinner together, ski-ing at Whistler, or Switzerland, enrol in a Cordon Bleu course...and I'm rich so it's not like we have to work."

My mobile phone rang, cutting Tony off. I groaned at the caller ID. Tony flopped back on the bed. "Here we go again," he said.

Only one person would call at that time of the night.

It meant I was leaving. Again.

 

\-------------

**TBC**

\-------------


	17. PART THREE: TONY & JONAS - CHAPTER 17

PART THREE - CHAPTER 17

**TONY & JONAS**

 

 

**Three Days Later;**

**Turko-Syrian border**

**TONY'S POV**

Sir Ramsey Frampton is a cousin, somewhere on my rather vast family tree. Ramsey is not just a distinguished archaeologist and renowned expert on Sumerian antiquities, his lineage in the field goes back three generations to my maternal grandmother who was a cousin of Thomas Edward Lawrence, better known as Lawrence of Arabia.

It is because of this connection that I was, once again, summoned by Trent, to go to the Carchemish archaeological dig which lies partly on Turkish and partly on Syrian soil. My assignment was to get my cousin back safely into Turkey before ISIS got hold of him and lopped off his head.

Though Jonas and I were disappointed at having to postpone our time-out together - again! - knowing this would be our final mission before we retired lessened our irritation. Something was brewing over at Trent's end. Both Jonas and I could sense it, and that whatever it was, it had a part to play in Trent accepting our resignations far more easily than we were expecting.

"Something's going on," Jonas had said as he kissed me goodbye after Trent's call. "It's not like him to okay our resignation. Not both of us at the same time."

I agreed. "I'm sure we'll find out soon enough. I'm just relieved he took it so well." Then I'd held Jonas longer than usual before letting him go.

o     o     o

 

As always, I had no idea where Jonas had been sent to and I had my own priorities - getting Cousin Ramsey before ISIS got him.

The newly-formed terrorist group had emerged after the remnants of Al-Qaeda in Iraq joined forces with Sunni extremist groups in Iraq and Syria this year. These splinter groups subsequently consolidated and evolved into the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria: ISIS. They looked like becoming an even bigger nuisance than Al-Qaeda in years to come.

There are a lot of places on earth I'd rather be at any one time than where I am right now - smack-dab on the Turkish-Syrian border. The archaeological site covers 90 hectares, 55 of which are in Turkey. I'm in the Turkish territory, of course, eating the local delicacy, Șirdan - stuffed sheep innards. Just twenty meters away is the Islamic State-controlled areas where I needed to get Ramsey out, and that's easier said than done. Reason? Excavations in the previous year had uncovered an entirely new wing of King Katuwa's Palace, believed to be the royal library and Ramsey's team were excited to commence the new excavation season. Getting them to evacuate _now_ was going to be a bitch.

 Since this wing was in Syrian territory, my brief had been simple - use my influence as a family member (yeah, right) to convince Ramsey not to venture into the ISIS-controlled Syrian territory and to return home _immediately._ Failing which, the British embassy would "request" for his deportation. That's something they'd rather not do as it would be embarrassing, not to mention the risk of our intentions falling on ISIS ears and causing them to advance their plan to abduct Ramsey without him even stepping over the border to Syria. To my relief, Ramsey agreed to leave, my having told him that if he refused and kicked up a fuss, ISIS would get wind of it and destroy the excavation site on their side. Ramsay could, then, say goodbye to the Carchemish royal library because the militants would bomb the digs sky high.

Ramsay wasted no time in calling a halt and rounding up the team for an expedited exit. We were putting Ramsey's luggage in the four-wheeler when a low-flying Apache went over our heads. We stopped to watch it and it was either landing, or crashing.

A few seconds later, we heard the crash.

I didn't hesitate but jumped into the four-wheeler, yelling at the group of Turkish soldiers to come with me. The archaeological site was guarded and protected by Turkish soldiers as there had already been several skirmishes between villagers in Jarabulus, the town right outside the excavation site. At this point, Jarabulus was still under Turkish control but it's tenuous and tomorrow it could be Syrian- with ISIS just waiting to pounce.

It was easy to reach the crash site - I headed straight for the billowing cloud of smoke and saw the helo was sitting half in, half out between Turkey and Syria, the border fencing squashed flat under the bird.

The wreckage lay just within the perimeter of the excavation side, about fifty meters from the bridge over the Euphrates built by German engineers back in 1913. The good part of this was that it provided us a justification for being at the crash site. The bad part was the passengers were in the half the helo that was on Syrian soil and if we didn't get to them first, ISIS would.

o     o     o

 

 

**JONAS' POV**

As we braced ourselves for a crash landing, it looked like I'd be ending my Navy SEAL career in a helo crash or, if I survived that, as one of the latest ISIS captives.

Knowing what the latter would be like, I far prefer the former.

Crashes are so sudden, so finite, that even when you're waiting and watching, it catches you in that split moment of unawareness. In our case, we hadn't been shot down; the helo developed a mechanical failure after twenty minutes in the air. Our pilot tried to bring the AH-64 Apache under control while the co-pilot reported our situation to the base. My last thought being of Tony, I watched the the Turko-Syrian border fence rush up to meet us and then everything went black.

o     o     o

 

I'd died and gone to heaven because I was sure I saw Tony's face hovering over me. Then again, I could be in hell because both my legs felt like they were on fire. The pain was so bad I lost consciousness again.

The next time I came to - sorta - I was in a vehicle. Shit. It had better be the Turks who had me. And what happened to Roy, Sean, Rick...and the pilots? My vision blurred and the pain in my legs were still as bad as ever. I couldn't move them. Were they still attached to by body? Or had they been severed in the crash? Hell, no. Please no.

Wolf shifters are hard to kill and yes, we do heal much faster than humans, though not the way popular fiction has it, neither do we miraculously grow new limbs if the old ones were cut off so I bloody hope mine were still intact.

"Jonas?"

Now, that definitely sounded like Tony. I opened my eyes but could only see blurry shapes with the sunlight against me and Tony, if it was him, looming over me.

"Tony?" I croaked.

"Hey, loverboy," Tony said in my ear. "At your majesty's service."

I smiled weakly. "Trent sent you?"

"Yes, but I also happened to be in the neighborhood."

"No kidding."

"No."

"My legs..."

"Both broken. I'll give you a painkiller in a minute. We're two minutes away from the archaeological digs. We have first aid there."

"The others?"

"All alive. We've got them in the other vehicles. Only one other seriously injured."

"What..." I sucked in a deep breath as the pain hit me again. Not just my legs now. I was hurting everywhere else. "What are you doing here?"

"Escorting a team of archaeologists back to civilization. Saw your Apache flying so low it almost gave me a buzz cut. Heard the boom and headed out. I'm glad to see you alive but damn...we gotta stop meeting like this."

My laugh came out as a croaky huff. "Yeah, I know." Tony squeezed my hand and I said, "I got a proposition for you."

Tony's brow canted. "Does it involve getting naked? If so, we're going to have wait a bit."

I tried to laugh but grimaced instead. "Tell you later."

o     o     o

 

 

_**One Week Later;** _

_**Back in London** _

The wounded SEALs and I had been flown to the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany which treats wounded soldiers coming out of Iraq and Afghanistan. After my legs were set, I was flown back to London instead of the US since I was part of Trent's team, not a regular SEAL.

When Tony had found me and my helo crew, I couldn't shift because I was the only shifter. I wasn't even supposed to be on that helo but had caught a lift to get to the base camp after conducting a special  reconnaisance mission that had ended up separating me from my unit.

To my surprise, Trent met us when we landed at Heathrow and I was wheeled-out.

"Why the special treatment?" I asked Trent as they helped me into his car.

"I happen to like you," he replied, smiling at me. "You're my best operative -"

"Hey," Tony protested.

"And," Trent continued, ignoring Tony. "I have a special assignment for you and wanted to check you out and see if a change in plans was needed."

"I''ll be right as rain in a couple of days," I said. "Earlier, I bet. If a malawere can heal from a bullet wound in less than a week, no reason why I can't beat that. By the way, where are you taking me? This isn't the way to KnightShield," I said, referring to the high-security residence where foreign black ops agents stayed in-between missions. We had several such residences scattered over the globe, every single one unlisted and unknown except to the select few who operated these safe houses.

"You're staying with Tony," Trent replied. "From hereon."

"We're out?" I asked. "Really?"

"Yes, we are," Tony replied.

Trent nodded and added, "I need to brief both of you. Something's come up."

"What?" Both Tony and I asked simultaneously.

"Operation Blood Moon," Trent replied.

 

\--------------

TBC

\--------------

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next week: PART FOUR: REUNION  
> Tony and Jonas meet Gibbs for the first time in twenty years.


	18. PART FOUR: REUNION - CHAPTER 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought I'd start the week posting a long chapter. It's not fully proofed so excuse the typo errors for now.
> 
> It's also the start of Part Four, which reunites Tony and Jonas with their beloved Jethro. But first, setting up the scene so be patient.

PART FOUR - CHAPTER 18

**REUNION**

 

_ 7.00am, SecNav's home; _

_ Washington, DC _

Sarah Porter, the current Secretary of the Navy, had just stepped into her shower when she heard her cell phone ring. Quickly stepping out, she reached for the phone that was ringing and twirling around on the marble counter top.

"Porter."

"Madam Secretary. Gibbs. Returning your call."

"Good morning, Jethro. Are you in the office already?"

"Not yet. Just left my house. What's up?"

"Stop by my residence, then. What I have to talk to you about doesn't involve NCIS directly. I'd appreciate it if you could have Mike Franks meet us here, too. I'll have coffee ready."

 

o     o     o

 

The aroma of freshly-brewed coffee greeted Gibbs as he stepped into the foyer of SecNav's home. Mike had just arrived and was alighting from the cab.

"Breakfast is on the terrace," Porter said, smiling as she led the way.

"Just need coffee," Gibbs said, following SecNav, eyeing her trim hips. He hadn't had a woman in a while, Allison Hart was hard enough to get rid of. She always offered and he never turned her down. Until last week. She couldn't take no for an answer and kept turning up unannounced at his home, stripping naked and waiting for him.

Damned persistent woman. Looked like he'd have to make it clear to her that he preferred men and intended to keep it that way.

"Not good, this habit of yours," SecNav said, shaking her head.

"What habit?"

"Skipping breakfast and just mainlining black coffee."

He thought Porter was talking about leaving his home unlocked and making possible for Hart to walk right in.

Mike Franks came up the rear just then, sniffing the air appreciatively. "Good morning, Madam Secretary of the Navy and President of the Vampire Association. Is that the aroma of maple syrup ham in the air?"

"It is," SecNav confirmed. "Fresh out of the oven."

As SecNav filled their coffee cups and the two men helped themselves to slices of freshly-baked Virginia ham, poached eggs and Potatoes O'Brien, she told the two men about the plan to kill Gibbs.

Her announcement was met with baffled amusement and skepticism.

"Jethro, I thought Trent Kort called you," Porter said, clearly not pleased by the men's reaction.

"He did," Gibbs replied. "He said _you_ 'd be calling about some project involving shifters and vampires. That was all."

"I see." SecNav paused to sip her coffee, looking thoughtful. _Wait till I get my hands on Kort_. Kort was supposed to have told Gibbs what this morning's meeting was about so she could skip having to contend with Gibbs' reaction. Now she'd be spending the better part of the hour convincing the wolf alpha of the necessity of having not just one but a whole team of bodyguards watching over him.

"A bodyguard? You're kidding, right?" Gibbs said. Instead of arguing, Porter waited patiently. As she expected, after a moment, Gibbs said with an exasperated sigh, "Alright. Tell me."

SecNav told him about having just returned from Geneva and the Joint-Council meeting.

Gibbs' facial expression when he heard about being assigned close protection security twenty-seven had Mike grinning. Jax, one of the quadrant alphas, had already briefed him him late last night so what SecNav was saying was no surprise to him. He'd deliberately not mentioned it to Gibbs, having rightly concluded what Gibbs' reaction would be. SecNav could have that pleasure.

 "Killing you is just a step, Special Agent Gibbs," SecNav added, intentionally using Gibbs' professional title. "Their objective is to scuttle our plans to unite the shifter kingdom with the vampires. The Joint Council discussed, and agreed upon, the necessary steps to keep you safe until your instatement on the 27th of September."

"I know about that Blood Moon date but why now? Why wait until now to get rid of me? Surely I would have been an easier target when I was a baby, a kid. Or when I was in the Marines? Was this prophecy thing some closely-guarded secret?"

"Not exactly," SecNav replied. "I knew about it and so did the Vampire Council. My parents knew and they aren't council members. Jenny Shepard knows, too. In fact, she was the one who told me at her wedding to Count Mordran. It's just not public knowledge, that's all. "Our" public, that is."

"So, again, why now?" Gibbs repeated.

"Couple of reasons. One, while the coming of the next alpha-rex was not a secret, his identity was. None of us knew who he was except Jackson Gibbs and Dr. Mallard. They were the only two people the Seer told the prophecy to and gave them the signs to look for. First, you would not shift at 18 but at 30. In wolf form, you would be much larger than other wolf shifters. You are a pure white wolf with blue eyes and you carry the alpha-rex mark - the profile of a wolf - on your forehead. Can't miss _that_." She smiled. "But, no one knew about these markers. Only the Seer, your father, and Dr. Mallard. The wolf council was told about these only a year ago. I only saw the photographs just before flying to Geneva. Have you seen them? You look magnificent!"

Gibbs ignored the compliment.

"There's a final mark," SecNav added. "The prophesied alpha-rex will receive this during the maximum eclipse on September 27. What this final mark is, we don't know."

"Then how will we recognize it?" Gibbs asked.

"The Seer knows, but he's not telling except that we will all know it when we see it. Our orders are to keep you alive and make sure you're at the designated spot during the total eclipse."

"And do we know where that is?"

"Only that it's in DC, your home pack territory," SecNav replied. "More wolf shifters are getting killed. More than the usual _and_ -" she emphasized the word, "drained of blood. The shifter enforcers couldn't solve the murders, even with the help of vampire agents. Then vampires started getting killed, their bodies decapitated. The victims were all law enforcement officials in their Second Lives."

‘First Life' referred to their original form whereas ‘Second Life' was their adopted human one. Gibbs was aware of the shifter murders but since none had been Navy personnel or belonged to his shifter quadrant, he had not been involved in the investigation.

"By then," SecNav continued. "The shifters and vampires had formed a joint-investigative team led by Jax Theron and the plot to assassinate you was discovered. We surmised that the rogue shifter-vampire duo only discovered who the alpha-rex was going to be recently. That answers the ‘Why now' question. Those shifter and vampire deaths only came to our notice six months ago. Until then, shifter deaths were few and no vampires had been killed in two hundred years. There have been ten vampire and twenty shifter deaths in the last twelve months. All of them during the two lunar eclipses last year and the one in April this year. The second lunar eclipse is the one on September 27."

Gibbs had stopped eating and was staring into his coffee while SecNav spoke. Shifters were hard to kill but they were easier to kill than vampires. He knew it was near impossible to kill a vampire; To kill one, the vampire had to be in his mortal phase, which was during the total lunar eclipse. The vampire had to be stabbed through its heart or decapitated before the total eclipse ended - when the moon moved out from the earth's umbra, the dark shadow.

 He looked up at her. "So I'm to have a bodyguard until I become the alpha-rex? What's to stop the rogues from killing me after that? What's so critical about my instatement?"

Porter didn't answer immediately, which made Gibbs suspicious. It could signal only one thing - she knew he wasn't going to like it. He and Porter had a good working relationship - better than what he'd had with her predecessors and he had a great deal of respect for her.

"It's a super blood moon, or a harvest moon as some call it and apparently you won't need a bodyguard after that. Why, I can only surmise that the rogue weres and vampires will be...taken care of by then.

"In addition to being the worldwide ruler of the shifters - and I understand that to be over all shifter species," SecNav added, "- you will unite the shifter and vampire kingdoms. How you will accomplish this, we were not told."

"But shifters and vampires aren't enemies," Gibbs pointed out.

"No, we are not," SecNav conceded. "But it appears we will end up with a common enemy one day in the near future - the humans. Both shifters and vampires need the human host, so to speak. We both manifest using the human being. If they annihilate themselves - which they are stupid enough to do - we won't have a host. You must admit the human form is vastly superior in many ways and we vampires need a physical body to inhabit. Given a choice, we'd rather be a human than a wolf."

"Because of the opposable thumbs," Mike said with a straight face.

And he'd rather be a human than float around like a homeless spirit which was what vampires ultimately were, Gibbs thought. "So what, exactly, will I do?"

"You will bring the shifters and vampires together in a way that's never happened before. Presently, vampires and shifters can work alongside but your rule will have shifters mating with vampires and -"

"Bull! Shit!" Mike spat out before guffawing. "Madam Secretary, pardon me, but that is too far-fetched. That we can co-exist without killing each other is already a damned miracle. No way a shifter is going to - pardon my French - fuck a vampire."

SecNav's cool blue eyes slide from Mike back to Gibbs and she said, responding to Mike, "Incredible, yes, but I suppose that's to be expected if the alpha-rex is to succeed. Apparently, he will bring this unification about and will do it sexually. How? I have absolutely no idea except the most obvious - that you," she brought her eyes back to Gibbs, "would have to take a vampire as your mate."

Gibbs glared at her. _Marry a vampire? No way._

"I'm not saying that's what will happen," SecNav said. "I just meant that that's the obvious thing. But since we don't know, I suggest you not get too riled up."

"September's just a couple of months away," Gibbs said. "I'll ask the Seer to give me the rest of the prophecy. About time I met the guy. Knows all about me but I don't know a thing about him except that he doesn't look like Lord Saruman."

"Who?" SecNav asked.

Mike told her and Porter laughed.

"No, the Seer doesn't look like that at all. I've got a photo if you want to see it."

Gibbs merely cocked his head.

"I'll take that as a yes." Porter tapped her cell phone and zoomed in the photograph before handing the phone to Gibbs.

Gibbs looked at picture and said, "Is this a joke?"

Mike grabbed the phone off him and guffawed. "Miz Sarah Porter, ma'am. This ain't the Seer. This is a picture of Matthew McConnaughey!" More raucous laughter followed.

"Who's that?" Gibbs asked while SecNav stared stonily at Mike.

"A-ac -" Mike couldn't stop laughing. "Actor. That's a picture of Mconnaughey in the movie, Surfer Dude," Mike said, his shoulders still shaking with laughter.

Gibbs looked at SecNav. He didn't have to say anything. Porter knew, from the expression on his face that he was ready to walk out. Talk about a tactical error on her part.

"That _is_ the Seer," SecNav said. "He _is_ an actor and a surfer. He says it's helluva lot more fun than sitting in a tent telling fortunes or being a dial-a-prophecy operator." When Gibbs still didn't say a word, she said, "Look, I can't tell the Seer what he can or cannot be. That's -" she tapped the photo with her finger. "- him and it's his prerogative what public image he wants."

"You're serious?" Mike asked, sobered up now. "Matthew McConnaughey is the Seer?"

"As serious as death," SecNav replied. "I know -"

"Look," Gibbs said, cuttin Porter off. " _I'm_ the one involved here. _I'm_ the one who's going to be the next alpha-rex. Either find out and tell me, or tell that clown -" he jabbed his finger at McConnaughey's abs. "that the incoming alpha-rex wants an audience with him and that I want it A.s.a.p."

Porter glanced at Mike who smirked and said, "From what I just heard, Madam Secretary, "this alpha-rex thing is pretty big deal. I mean _big_ as in do what the king says or off with ya head kinda big. And, hey, he's right - he's gonna be the one to bring this whole unification thing about so I say it's pretty fair the Seer ought to to tell him face-face what's going to happen and what he'll be doing." He took a noisy swallow from his cup and added, "And I've seen those vampire chicks. Man, they're hot stuff. I'm for any plans involving...um, unification."

Gibbs looked pointedly at SecNav.

"Dr. Mallard has spoken to the Seer several times but the response remains unchanged. You are to be left to find out these things when the time came," SecNav replied. "You think we did not ask the same questions? You think Dr. Mallard and your father did not? We were all told to just leave things as they were and that they would find out when it happens. So, even if I were to go against the Seer's orders, I couldn't answer all your questions because I don't have the answers.

"Let's get back on track." SecNav added. "Operation Blood Moon is on. Jonas Raven is the operations commander, directing ground control and he will be part of your protective detail."

"Who is he?" Gibbs asked.

"A former US Navy SEAL until he was recruited by an organization called KnightShadow Inc. It's a covert oganization made up entirely of shifters and vampires and headed by Jax Theron, a lion shifter."

"Never heard of them. Which pack is Raven from?"

"North-East quadrant. Oregon. You can ask Dr. Mallard."

"McCadden," Mike said. "Philip McCadden is the quadrant alpha."

"You know which pack Raven is from?"

"No," Mike replied. "Never heard of him until now."

"Do you know anything about him?" Gibbs asked SecNav.

"He was recruited by Jax Theron some ten-over years ago and was subsequently made part of a joint-task force headed by Trent Kort...whom you know very well."

"Bloody Kort," Gibbs muttered. "Can't be any good if _he's_ involved."

"He's not so bad once you get to know him," SecNav said, which elicited another snort from Gibbs.

"Why isn't this Jonas guy here if he's running this operation?" Gibbs asked.

"He was only just informed about Operation Blood Moon and is assembling his team." SecNav replied. "But..." her cell phone buzzed and she picked it up. "Jonas. We were just talking about you. Where are you and when can you meet Alpha Gibbs?" SecNav hmmed, nodded her head, then ended the call, saying, "We'll catch you later, then."

Mike Franks frowned. "Everything on schedule?"

"With Jonas at the helm? Of course," SecNav replied with a smirk then turned back to Gibbs. "As I was saying, or was about to say before we went off track, your primary bodyguard is also a federal agent. Not from NCIS or the FBI but from the DSS."

"DSS?" Gibbs' fork paused midway to his mouth. "Why? What's the State Department got to do with this?"

"No, not Defense Security," SecNav said. " _Diplomatic_ Security Service. Special Agent DiNozzo's cover will be that of a liaison officer between MTAC and UK's MI-6."

"Cover?" Gibbs asked. "For what? And a _liaison_ officer?"

"I'm coming to that," SecNav replied, picking up her cup of coffee and taking a sip before adding more milk. "This isn't the first time shifters have worked a joint op with a human organization. We vampires have been doing it for centuries but this is the first time all three - humans, vampire and shifters - are working an assignment together. The humans remain unaware at this point, so DiNozzo is merely a liaison officer that I, the Secretary of the Navy, has chosen to promote closer ties with the UK intelligence community. Director Vance will be told that you and your colleagues are required to work on a top-secret project. Strictly need-to-know, and Vance doesn't - beyond informing him of your temporary removal."

"Removal?"

"Operation Blood Moon has its own task force Hq. You'll be working out of there for your safety."

"And this DiNozzo. He's with the DSS?" Gibbs asked. "So he's not a Brit like Kort?"

"No, but he might as well be. His maternal family is based in the UK though they do own homes in the US. He started off in the US Diplomatic Service, then ten years in the DSS' Office of Investigations and Counterintelligence. He's received the same training as any Federal Agent but his forte is his experience in the UK and European intelligence community. He has worked under Kort for a decade."

"With all due respect, Madam Secretary," Gibbs said. "I am cognizant of the fact that I am going to be the first alpha-rex in over two millennia, but even more so will I be more than capable of protecting myself. I _am_ a trained special agent, in addition to the strengths alphas possess in shifted form. I do appreciate the fact that the Council wants to keep me safe, but I do think this is a bit of an overkill."

SecNav smiled, setting down her cup of coffee very deliberately on the fine china saucer. _Uh oh_ , thought Mike, eyeing the the vampire lady and his ex-Probie, soon-to-be alpha-rex.

"And with all due respect returned, Alpha Gibbs," SecNav replied, her tone cool. "Don't _you_ remind your team members never to underestimate the perp? Isn't teamwork the hallmark of your tenure as the leader of the MCRT and isn't this teamwork the reason for your success? Your reputation is a formidable one, your success rate unrivalled in the Agency's history. Surely you're not going to argue that this is due to _team_ work?

"The Joint-Council would sleep a little better if we knew you had a few extra pairs of eyes to watch over you while you go about your daily business. Oh, I _am_ sorry - did I mention that DiNozzo is not your sole close protection officer? You will have two operatives with you at all times and the rest of the security team stationed around your perimeter."

Gibbs' eyes looked like they were about to pop. "You're assigning more than one bodyguard? I am not -"

"Not me, Alpha Gibbs," SecNav replied. "Well, not entirely. The Joint Council assigned you the protective detail, down to who each operative is and their respective AOR. I, as Secretary of the Navy, and your superior,  am ordering you to be put in protective custody. I'm not going to tell you it's for your own good because it isn't." Her voice had developed a steely edge now and all traces of softness gone from her delicate features. "It's for the good of the vampire and shifter kingdoms _and_ the human population. So suck it up, Special Agent Gibbs."

The silence lengthened. Mike helped himself to more coffee. Gibbs stared at his. They were right, Gibbs had to concede. As the incoming alpha-rex, he had obligations, whether he liked them or not. As for having a whole team of security personnel playing nanny for the next couple of months, at least they were shifters, and temporary.

Finally, he said, "My apologies, Madam Secretary of the Navy and President of the Vampire Association. I assure you of my fullest co-operation. It'll be hard...but -"

"But he'll quit being a pain in the ass and get with the program," Mike added, giving Gibbs a glare.

 "Is this DiNozzo guy a shifter?" Gibbs asked.

"Yes." SecNav refilled Gibbs' and her cup. "One who is respected and well-liked even amongst vampire circles. I consider myself a close friend of his parents."

 "Which quadrant? Is he an alpha?" He didn't recall coming across a DiNozzo amongst the alphas.

"He is not a wolf shifter."

Gibbs frowned, not liking the sound of that. If he had to have a bodyguard chasing his shadow, it had better be a wolf shifter and not a feline. Not that he had anything against cat shifters, though he bet Jax Theron, the lion shifter, was a pussy cat.

"DiNozzo's a malawere."

Mike choked and went into a fit of coughing.

"A wha-att?" Gibbs spat out.

SecNav repressed another sigh and smiled instead. She had been warned by Trent to expect resistance from Gibbs but she'd arrived back in DC at two am, woken up after just a couple of hours' sleep to make that call to Gibbs, wanting to catch him early. She wasn't in the mood to humor Gibbs' prejudices, especially when they were unjustified as far as she and the Joint Council were concerned.

"You heard me, Jethro. Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo is a malamute shifter," SecNav confirmed. "He is also very highly-regarded by his peers and superiors and you can put your safety totally in his care. If you couldn't, I would not have approved his nomination as your personal 24/7 bodyguard."

"Twenty-four -! Twenty-four seven?" Gibbs blustered.

"Twenty. Four. Seven, Special Agent Gibbs," SecNav reiterated firmly.  "He will eat, sleep and work with you. You and your team will be investigating the shifter and vampire murders, don't forget, and your bodyguards will be assisting in the investigation. But if you really think you won't like that,Trent did suggest an alternative - pack you off to a New Age spa for two months with the bodyguards but -"

"But you knew I'd kill him if he did that," Gibb cut in.

Porter gave another of her wry smiles. Gibbs could be difficult and ornery but he was also the best NCIS had ever had. Not to mention being easy on the eyes. He would make a great ruler once he accepted it. "The rest of the joint council didn't think it was a good idea. So, gentlemen, I think we are done here." She stood. "I have another meeting to attend then a lunch at the Naval Yard, so let's get moving, shall we?"

Stubborn blues glared at cool blues. "When is he arriving?" Gibbs finally asked, in a grudging tone. "This liaison officer cum personal nanny," saying the words as if it were a dirty phrase.

"He's already in DC. Expect him at NCIS sometime this afternoon." SecNav waited a beat then added, "Jethro, play nice for once. I have a soft spot for DiNozzo."

 

o     o     o

"Aw, come _on_ ," Mike grinned at Gibbs as they left SecNav's house. "So he's a malamute. So what? I love ‘em. They're cuddly. And malaweres are excellent hostage negotiators."

"Did you know about this?" Gibbs asked, his tone accusing.

"Now, that is downright offensive," Mike growled. "After twenty years you think I'd keep something this critical from you?"

Gibbs looked away. "I'm sorry." Mike was right to be miffed. Everything Mike had known, he'd shared with his mentoree and if he hadn't, it was because he hadn't known it himself.

"Apology accepted. Never know how many decades it'll be before I hear one from your lips again." He grinned. "No, I didn't know until this morning. Jax called me at one in the morning but he only told me about the planned hit. Nothing about your bodyguard being a fucking malawere! If I  knew, I wouldn't have been anywhere near you when Madam Secretary told you."

"And who's this Jax person? You met him?"

"Yeah, couple of times," Mike replied. "But he moves in circles vastly different from yours truly - parties that require tuxedos and shit."

"And he's an operative?" Gibbs asked skeptically.

"Yeah. Comes from money. Lots and lots of money but there's stories about Jax being different on account of some childhood trauma. Or when he was a teen. Whatever it was, it made him choose a different path from his siblings, all of whom went into the family company straight from college."

"And Jax?"

"Went into the army, I think. Special forces. His mentor was Alex Knight, who founded KnightShadows Inc. Now, that is some scary motherfucker and rumor has it he's fucking Jax."

"And KnightShadows is made up of shifters?"

"And vampires with Alex being the boss bloodsucker."

"A shifter knowingly fucking a vampire? But Jax is a lion shifter, isn't he? Aren't very discriminating, those felines."

Mike gave a bark of laughter. "Meo-oww! Aren't we catty today."

"So is Jax involved in Operation Blood Moon? SecNav didn't say."

"Don't know. You'll have to ask Jonas. He's the op commander and one of Jax's blue-eyed boys. Jax's team was handling the initial investigation into the murders. Once they found out about the hit on you, Ducky and Porter set up the Joint Council and worked on Operation Blood Moon."

"I never came across Jax or KnightShadows in my investigations," Gibbs said. "There were three shifter deaths that involved NCIS in the last two years."

"The KnightShadows work behind the scenes. They would know everything you know about every case. I guess it's safe to say they will be involved with Operation Blood Moon at some point."

"What about DiNozzo? You know him?"

"Nope." Mike shook his head. "Heard of his father, though. Some billionaire industrialist who's based in Europe. Works very closely with the vampires. He and the Count were the ones who first mooted the idea of reforming relations between vampires and shifters."

"So my bodyguard got the job because of Daddy?"

Mike laughed out loud. "Ya heard Madam Secretary. DiNozzo's reputation is sterling, even if he's a Richie Rich. And a malawere." Another chuckle escaped. "About the rogue were and vampire - I didn't know about that. Not until Jax told me. Heard some rumors earlier but you hear shit every day so I didn't pay it no mind. Looks like it's not just true, it's fucking serious. They are baddies after you, Probie."

Gibbs made a rude sound. "What's DiNozzo going to do if someone really tries to kill me? Lick him to death?"

"That's a Labrador," Mike chuckled.

"Talk him to death, then. You know we don't negotiate with terrorists and that's what those rogue shifters are."

"I knew a Labrador shifter once. Man... ooWEE! She was cuddly, that one. Great licker."

"Malamute, Labrador. Same difference to me," Gibbs growled.

"Listen here, Alpha-Rex Gibbs," Mike's voice lost its jocular tone. "DiNozzo's a liaison officer between us American shifters and our European brothers. _And_ between us shifters and vampires. That meeting in Switzerland? That was ground-breaking. It was the first time the vampire and shifter kingdoms met formally and are actually on a joint mission. So, like SecNav said, play nice, Probie. Or it reflects badly on me."

Gibbs snorted. "You're the orneriest sonofabitch on the planet. Where do you think I picked up all my bad habits?"

"Hey, I'm helluva lot more easygoing than you. I can walk away without snorting or spitting nails. So, like I was saying - and you did promise SecNav -" Mike wagged a finger at Gibbs. "You _will_ give your full cooperation. Look, the guy's twelve years your junior. Treat him like your new Probie." Mike glanced at his friend and colleague. "No, don't snort again."

Gibbs made a sound of disgust anyway. "You know what's going to happen? That half-ass American-Brit punk's going to expect me to cook him breakfast every morning, do his laundry and iron his shirts. Protect me, my ass. Like I can't look after my own ass."

Mike shook his head, expelling a breath of exasperation. "Listen up, Probie. I'm serious. This is important - this plan to bring the shifter and vampires together. And those reports of increased violence and unrest?" He scratched his chin.

"What about ‘em?"

"Their objective is to prevent you from becoming alpha-rex but their real objective is scuttling the reformation plans. You wouldn't understand the intricacies involved because you hate politics. That's why you and I aren't on any councils. But we gotta go with their decisions because people like SecNav are doing the jobs we don't want to do. Plus, they're good at it. And this DiNozzo - he's SecNav, Kort and Jax rolled into one. I'm _for_ this project, Probie, so you'll be letting me retire in peace if you just get with the program. You don't have to like DiNozzo. Just don't make his work any harder than it already is. You, of all people, ought to know how frustrating it gets when the target isn't cooperative - said target invariably ends up as victim."

Gibbs turned his vehicle into the Navy Yard, not responding to Mike's words. Truth be told, he wasn't too happy about his own attitude and did wonder what was causing him to be in such a foul mood these days.

"Just remember, Probie - when I took you on twenty years ago, you stayed in _my_ house and followed me around like a puppy for an entire year. Did I complain? Hell, no. Why? Because it was my responsibility to train and mentor you. All deputies and incoming alphas live with their current alpha and the alpha's family. You were my successor so it never even occurred to me to wonder whether I liked having some tenderfoot _under_ foot. You were my responsibility and obligation. That was all there was to it. You're going to be our alpha-rex, Jethro. Damn, that has to count for something with you.

"What's the big deal about having your bodyguard staying with you and cooking him breakfast once in a while? Hell, I did that for you _every_ weekend _and_ set the coffee maker _every_ night for extra-strong. Did that for a whole fucking year. It's pay back time." Mike sat back and sighed loudly. "Damn. Matthew McConnaughey, the Seer." And he started laughing again.


	19. PART FOUR: REUNION - CHAPTER 19

PART FOUR - CHAPTER 19 REUNION

 

 

Later, same morning; NCIS; Washington, DC

 

Gibbs gave a single knock and entered Director Vance’s office.

“I was just about to call you,” Vance said, leaning back on his chair.

“SecNav’s spoken to you?” Gibbs asked.

“Just. I know you don’t like interns and have even less use for liaison officers, but –”

“From what I’ve been told," Gibbs interrupted. "He’s an experienced special agent with fifteen years service under his belt.”

“Six of them in counter-espionage, working with the best – Trent Kort, head of the MI-6’s Special Operations Division.”

“That’s the part I don’t like,” Gibbs said. “But I gave SecNav my word that I’d co-operate fully so it’s fine. I’m sure he’ll fit in nicely. Vance’s brow quirked up.

“You feeling okay?”

“I’m fine. Why?”

“Never known you to be so co-operative over a joint-op.”

Gibbs threw his hands up. “What’s wrong with you people? When I balk at something, I’m being pigheaded and territorial; when I’m cooperative, I must be sick. Damned if I do, damned if I don’t.”

Vance grinned. “Look, you’ve got to admit it’s rare for you to have another person living and working with you twenty-four seven. And for an indefinite period. SecN –”

“I said, it’s fine. What did SecNav tell you?”

“About the undercover assignment?”

Gibbs nodded.

“Nothing beyond the fact that she’s taking McGee, Ms Sciuto and Ducky.” Vance replied. “Might as well shut NCIS down,” he added in a mutter.

“Palmer’s capable of taking over the autopsy unit. He’s ready to head it any time Ducky decides to retire and you know that. As for Abby, her stand-ins aren’t new to the job and Bishop will have no problem leading the team in McGee’s and my absence.”

“What is this about, Gibbs?”

Gibbs chuckled. “You know better than to ask me, Leon. It’s classified and it’s SecNav’s baby.”

Vance harrumphed, clearly annoyed at the disruption and even more annoyed at the fact that he was being kept in the dark. There was nothing he could do about it. The order to pull Gibbs and the other key staff members out had come from those higher up on the pay scale with a far higher security clearance than he had. “Can you at least tell me how long this is going to last?”

“Should be wrapped up by the first week of October.” Vance continued to glower at Gibbs. “Relax, Leon,” Gibbs said. “This is SecNav’s call. If I were you, I’d go take that Med cruise Jackie’s been wanting to go on the last three years. By the time you get back, the temps would have settled in. Besides I will still be monitoring the cases with Bishop. I just won’t be doing it from NCIS. You’ve never been a micro manager. You don’t want to start now.”

Vance gave another huff. “Guess you’re right. You sure you can’t attend the lunch?”

“No, and I’ve already informed SecNav so she’s not expecting me,” Gibbs replied. “You know I don’t do these social events. That’s your and SecNav’s job. Leave me alone to do mine.” Seeing Vance’s still-troubled expression, he added, “I’m not dropping the ball on our day-to-day. I will be doing what I’m paid to do, covert operation or not. You go have a nice lunch with the navy chiefs and don’t forget to call Jackie.” Gibbs strode to the door and before it shut after him, Vance was already taking out his cell phone to give his wife the good news.

o    o    o

Gibbs saw Bishop and McGee exiting the elevator just as he rounded the corner from the stairs. They’d just returned from questioning the families of their latest victim and after debriefing them, he paid Ducky a visit. The ME was concentrating on the newly-arrived cadavers when Gibbs strode in. Palmer was nowhere in sight.

“What we got, Ducky? Not another one?” Gibbs asked.

Ducky gave a quick glance around before answering. “I’m afraid so. Our third this month, but look here –” he pointed to the pair of puncture marks on the woman’s neck.

“Bloodsuckers?” Gibbs asked softly, his brows drawing together. “I’m afraid so. The poor girl has both wolf and vampire marks. Wolf fur was found embedded in the wound on her skull. Looks like he knocked her unconscious then the vampire had his fill of her.”

“Any other signs?”

“She had sexual intercourse shortly before death but whoever – whichever – had sex with her wore a condom so traces of traces of semen. We’ve got the bruises on her upper arms conforming to physical restraint by one of the perps. Probably holding her down while the other raped her. She was drained of blood after that. Death by ex-sanguination. In normal cases, the victim bleeds out. In Miss Beth’s case, there’s very little trace of blood on her and none where she was found.”

“So her blood was completely sucked out,” Gibbs concluded.

“And into someone, or something,” Ducky added. “I venture to say it’s our rogue vampire.” He shook his head, tutt-tutting softly. “Poor girl. She’s only in her teens. No older than eighteen, at most. I know it isn’t necessary to say it but I’m going to. These attacks have to stop. I heard the civilian authorities have had their share of such victims – four, so far – and Colonel Mann’s team is investigating their latest victim – their second one this month. We’re not going to be able to hold back the usual rumors much longer. You know how it is. I’m surprised the Colonel and your friend, Fornell, haven’t called you about these. And what about us? I’m sure the press will be calling the Director any minute now and I can’t see us hiding this from him much longer.”

“If they do, he’ll just refer them to me and we’ll give the press the usual comment – that there are no rampaging werewolves or vampires in DC and that it’s just another ‘chupacabra sighting’,” Gibbs said, deciding there and then that DiNozzo could handle that. It would be the malawere’s first assignment. “When are you supposed to be reporting in?” he asked softly just as Palmer entered, saw Gibbs and made a turnaround, exiting again.

Ducky checked to make sure they were still alone. “Someone from the task force will be coming for me tomorrow at eight in the morning. I was told not to report to work but to pack for a 2-month stay and wait to be picked up.” He leaned close and whispered. “Location: Top. Secret.” He winked at Gibbs. “Has Abby been called up yet? I didn’t say a word to her when she popped in earlier. She’d made me a batch of Scottish Shortbread. I’m bringing those with me.”

“I’m on my way to see her. They’ll likely be picking the two of you together. If I don’t see you later, we’ll catch up at the task force headquarters.”

o     o     o

Abby was bouncing maniacally to the beat of her music when Gibbs strode into her lab. She quickly shut the music off, knowing the MCRT leader didn’t care for her heavy metal numbers. “Gibbs. I heard you’re getting a new team member.”

“News travels fast,” Gibbs muttered. “And no, he’s not joining MCRT. Not even NCIS. He’s on loan from the DSS – Diplomatic, not Defense.” “What’s he doing in NCIS?”

“Abs,” Gibbs said, ignoring her question. “Has SecNav called you yet?”

“Err…what about?” Abby asked, her voice suddenly wary, her eyes avoiding Gibbs’.

Gibbs couldn’t prevent the eye roll. “Abby. Has SecNav called you? Just yes or no.”

“Um…yes.” Abby fidgeted with the hem of her blouse and wouldn't look Gibbs in the eye.

“Ducky’s being picked up in the morning. Get packed when you go home this evening and expect to be picked up in the morning, too.”

Abby’s face immediately brightened. “You’re part of this? Oh Gibbs! You have no idea how relieved that makes me. I thought I was going to do this alone.”

“No, Abs. You’re not doing this alone. McGee and Ducky’s part of it, too. Vance has been informed but only that we’re needed for a covert assignment. He’s not in the need-to-know.”

“But I wasn’t even told what I’ll be doing and what the assignment’s about.”

“We’ll be briefed upon arrival.”

“Do you know these people?”

“Yes, Abs. We can trust them.”

“Yo, you two hungry?” Mike asked, coming out from Abby’s office. “Hey, sweet Abby, come eat with us. Jethro’s feeling generous today so lunch is on him.”

“C’mon.” Gibbs steered Abby away from her monitor screen. 

 

\--------------

**TBC**

\--------------


	20. PART FOUR: REUNION - CHAPTER 20

**PART FOUR - CHAPTER 20**

**REUNION**

 

The three of them were just crossing M street on their way back from lunch when the screech of tires, lights and armored vehicles had them stopping in their tracks. Weapons drawn, Kevlar-vested men spilled out of the vehicles, taking up defensive positions.

Above them, choppers approached and hovered close to the rooftops, the whup-whup of their rotary wings adding to the tension created by the police sirens. Several police cruisers came to a screeching halt in front of Gibbs and Mike. Despite Big Voice, the loudspeaker system, announcing a ‘shelter-in-place’ order, several people came running out of what was Tingey House, the official residence of the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Jonathan Greenert.

“What’s happening?” Abby asked, knowing it wasn’t good. A ‘shelter-in-place’ indicated a shooter and everyone in the vicinity was to stay put and find shelter where they were.

Gibbs went up to the nearest cop, flashing his badge. “We got a shooter?” he asked just his cell phone rang. Gesturing to Mike to takeover and talk to the cop, he answered his phone. “Gibbs.” A minute later, he turned to Mike, “That was Vance. He’s there in Tingey House now. He and SecNav were at a lunch hosted by the Admiral for visiting CNOs.”

Mike nodded. “SecNav’s being held with the spouses of the Admirals and the visiting CNOs. There’re two gunmen in there. They separated the women from the men. And there’s at least one other shooter in the Naval Yard."

“Let’s head back and get the full report,” Gibbs said. “Abby, go home. Nothing you can do here and the place is in lockdown.”

"But -"

"No buts," Gibbs said, steering Abby away. "Go home. You'll be picked up early so be ready." Turning to Mike, he said, “Vance went to the restroom down the hall when the gunmen entered. He’s still holed up in there. He didn’t mention a second gunman so he may not know.” His cell phone rang. “Yeah.”

“Gibbs!” It was McGee, sounding breathless. “There’s been an attack at Tingey House –”

“I know. I’m on my way back.” He ended the call and they ran through Isaac Hull Avenue, encountering dozens of employees streaming out of the Joshua Humphreys Building, a block from the NCIS building. One woman had blood streaming down her face from a head wound.

“Paramedics are on their way,” Mike told her.

“How did you get the head wound?” Gibbs asked, helping her away from the doorway where more people, some crying hysterically and others looking shell-shocked were making their escape despite the shelter-in-place order. “Shooter,” the woman gasped. “I was running down the stairwell. He opened fire. I think a bullet ricocheted off the wall and hit me. Just scraped past my skull.”

“Are you hit anywhere else?”

“No.” 

More uniforms had reached them by now and the paramedics were making their way up the street. Turning round the corner into Sicard Street and running to NCIS office at the next block, they were stopped by other DC law enforcement officials asking which building was the Joshua Humphreys building. There were several buildings in the Yard and most people, even other government officials, wouldn’t know their way around unless they worked there.

“The block after, back there,” Gibbs answered, pointing behind him. “It’s the old Building Number 197 where the 2013 shooting happened.”

“Oh, right,” said the officer. “I know that one.”

“There’s at least one shooter in the building,” Gibbs warned.

An Eagle One helicopter from the U.S. Park Police Aviation Unit across the Anacostia River was airlifting the injured from the Park while an armed rescue technician from the helo scanned the area for a possible attack on the rescue bid. The other helos were still hovering over the Yard.

Running back to the NCIS building, the two men were greeted by McGee and Bishop when they strode into the bullpen. Live reports on TV were being watched by the rest of the employees as the drama unfolded outside their windows. Dorneget and another senior agent whom Gibbs had assigned to stand in, were also there.

“Update.” Gibbs snapped, coming to stand before the plasma.

“So far one shooter in Building 197 next door,” McGee reported. “And two gunmen holding the visiting Chiefs of Naval Operations and their wives, including SecNav and Mrs. Darleen Greenhert, the CNO’s wife.”

“This will be the mother of all foreign affairs fuck-up if we don’t get those ladies out unhurt,” Mike said. “Nevermind the visiting chiefs.”

“We’ve got Vance in there, too.” Gibbs’ face was tight with tension. “McGee, get the guy co-ordinating the rescue op on the phone, or find out who, and where, exactly, he is right now.”

More troops and SWAT teams had gathered outside and according to the news reports, every building in the Navy Yard was now under guard. Emergency vehicles lined the street outside the NCIS Hq and there wasn’t a single street in the Navy Yard that didn’t have cop cars and civilian vehicles being searched.

The news was reporting that the visiting CNO’s wives were were being held by a group whose identity or affliation was unclear and no ransom demand had yet been made.

“We’re going to leave Building 197 to the SWAT teams,” Gibbs told his team. “We’ll focus on getting SecNav and the CNO’s wives out. I need any info you can get on Tingey House, how many were on the guestlist, a blueprint of the house –” his phone rang and he glanced at the caller ID. “It’s the Director.”

“Gibbs,” Vance said, his tone bearing the urgency of the situation.

"Where are you?" Gibbs asked.

“In Quarters A. There’s one gunman in the dining room downstairs. A second gunman’s in the lounge upstairs where the women were having coffee. That’s in the center of the house, below the dormer. I’m in the attic, the gable at the right of the house, next to Parsons Street. Access is a small stairway in the hallway.”

“I’m looking at the blueprints,” Gibbs said. “Can you open the gable window? I’ll access from the rooftop.”

“It’s one of those push upwards windows. I don’t know how tight it is. Don’t want the noise to alert the gunman below. My battery’s going. You gonna lose me.”

“Wait till I’m there before you open the window. ETA in ten.”

o     o     o

 

After a brief meeting with the police chief, it was decided that Gibbs would insert himself into Tingey House after the SWAT team secured the perimeter. Homeland Security had ordered a news blackout over Tingey House while the operation to infiltrate the residence was underway. They could not risk the gunmen being alerted of the infiltration via the news broadcast. It still left the possibility that there was an accomplice as the lookout and he’d be recording the siege on a mobile phone. It was a risk they’d have to take.

He got onto the roof easily and appeared at the gable’s window where Vance was waiting. He had just climbed inside when a shot rang out, followed by a loud crash, thuds, and the splintering of glass.

Both men looked out in time to see the body of a man in army fatigues laying on the porch. And a giant dog sitting next to him. A very bloody giant dog.

There was a lull then a sudden surge of cops and SWAT team members converged towards the house.

“What the hell is going on?” Vance asked. “Where did he come from?” he asked, referring to the dead, or unconscious man laying on the ground, now surrounded by cops and armed guards.

 _What the hell? Was that a dog next to the unconscious man_? “This is Special Agent Gibbs. What happened?” Gibbs asked through his comms unit.

“We’re going in. Someone crashed through the first floor window,” the SWAT leader replied. “Um, with a dog.”

“Someone crashed through the window,” Gibbs told Vance, walking to the door. “With the dog. SWAT’s coming in.

The door burst open just then, nearly smacking into Gibbs and two SWAT officers burst in.

“You guys alright?” the first SWAT officer asked. “Building is secure. One gunman dead, one in custody.”

“Casualties on our side?” Vance asked as they hurried out of the room.

“Guests are being removed. No known casualties at this point.”

“Where’s the SecNav?” Gibbs asked, already running down the stairs.”

“Already evacuated. She’s unhurt.”

When both Gibbs and Vance exited the house that was now overrun by armed personnel, Gibbs caught sight of SecNav surrounded by security.

The body of one of the gunmen was lying on the driveway, presumably the one who crashed through the window above. Gibbs ran over to the paramedics who were lifting the bloodied and unconscious man onto the stretcher as the other gunman was being led by SWAT officers to the armored vehicle.

“What’s the damage?” Gibbs nodded at the bloody body, frowning at the amount of blood. There was a huge, bloody hole where the gunman’s throat had been.

“His throat’s been ripped apart,” the paramedic said. “Windpipe was severed. Don’t know how the hell that happened.The other perp’s okay. Security’s got him.”

The paramedics loaded the injured gunman in the vehicle and Gibbs watched them drive off, wondering what happened up there. He turned and made his way to SecNav who was surrounded by security. She’d be able to answer his questions.

“Special Agent Gibbs.” SecNav said with a smile when he reached her. “I was just about to go over to the NCIS office.”

“Madam Secretary, are you alright?” Gibbs asked.

“I am fine, Special Agent Gibbs,” she replied. “Director Vance,” she turned to Vance. “Leon. Are you alright? I didn’t see you coming out with the others.”

Vance gave her a brief account of where he’d been. Gibbs’ phone rang and he turned away to answer it.

“I hear there is another shooter in Building 197,” SecNav said to Vance.

“Yes,” Vance confirmed. “And we need to get under cover, Ma’am. It isn’t safe yet.”

“Shooter in 197 was just taken down,” Gibbs said, putting his phone away. “No other shooter suspected. The building is secure but the Judge Advocate General was shot in the arm. She’s okay and the paramedics have airlifted her to the George Washington.”

Word of the last shooter being apprehended had reached everyone’s ears and a burst of applause erupted from the crowd of policemen and other armed personnel. The news crews were allowed past the taped areas and made a beeline for SecNav.

“Madam Secretary,” the reporter began, as more microphones were shoved in the SecNav’s face. “Can you tell us who is responsible for the attack?”

“Were any of the visiting Chiefs of Naval Operations hurt?” asked another.

“Were their wives traumatized?” Yet another asked at the same time.

“Which countries were the visiting chiefs from?”

“Was the motive political?”

“Madam Secretary –”

The questions continued to come as the reporters and camera crew chased after SecNav. The low but audible growl that followed had the media stopping and freezing in their tracks. The monster dog that been keeping by SecNav’s side now stood between her and the reporters, baring its fangs. There was a momentary silence between the two groups, both watching the snarling animal.

“Uh, Ma’am,” one of the cameramen finally said. “Please call off your dog.”

“Hey, didn’t it leap out of the window with the gunman?” The reporter nearest to SecNav asked.

“I saw it attack the gunman,” another said.

“SecNav, did your dog save your life and that of the other women who were being held?”

Camera flashes were going off again, this time the malamute being the target.

“Madam Secretary, is that your dog?” A reporter asked.

SecNav frowned, about to say it wasn’t, then a smile broke out on her face. “No, this malamute belongs to Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs. I was just borrowing him for a while.”

Gibbs turned and looked at SecNav. “He’s not –”

“Special Agent Gibbs,” SecNav said, sweetly. “Meet Tony DiNozzo.” Then looking at the dog, she said, “Special Agent DiNozzo, meet your new Master. Leroy Jethro Gibbs.”

Tony padded up to Gibbs, stood on his hind legs, paws on Gibbs’ shoulders and licked his face. A loud “Whoa-a” rose from the other group at the extraordinary size of the malamute and other curious bystanders were starting to gather round.

A few feet away, Vance was using Gibbs’ cell phone. “Gibbs, we’ve got to get back. The gunman that crashed through the window DOA’d and we’re about to interrogate the third. SecNav, you’ll have to excuse us.”

“You’ll have to handle the interrogation with the FBI, Leon,” SecNav said. “Gibbs has to leave. Now. With me.” Her cell phone trilled and she answered, turning away for privacy.

“I didn’t know you had a dog,” Vance said to Gibbs, frowning at the malamute who was sitting at Gibbs’ side like a gigantic black and white wolf.

“I didn’t either,” Gibbs muttered under his breath. “Until today.”

“What’s his name?”

“DiNozzo.” Tony looked up at the sound of his name and licked the hand beside him, shuffling closer to the pair of legs until man and dog were plastered together.

 

\---------------

**TBC**

\---------------

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next update: next weekend.


	21. PART FOUR: REUNION - CHAPTER 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EXCUSES. EXCUSES. EXCUSES.  
> I've been unwell all week so hardly any writing was done. I'm doing my best to complete the story so bear with delays. It's hard to write action/suspense scenes when I'm barfing at both ends (ugh) and impossible to even contemplate a sex scene! Criticisms when the story is completed is likely well-deserved:(

PART FOUR - CHAPTER 21

**REUNION**

 

 

"I wasn't the target, Gibbs," SecNav said, once Vance left.

"Who was?" Gibbs asked.

"You. Jonas questioned the attackers and found out you were the one they were after. He wants you taken to the task force facility immediately."

"Am I going to get to meet this Jonas?" Gibbs asked.

"He'll wrap up his briefing and meet you at the facility. Operation Blood Moon is on, full speed, Jethro. You take orders from Jonas from hereon and follow DiNozzo's when it comes to your security. Good luck, Alpha-Rex Jethro." SecNav bowed her head low as a sign of respect for the incoming shifter king. "I will update the Council and let them know your security detail has taken over."

Gibbs nodded and said, "Extend my greetings to the Count and the Vampire Council."

"I will, and the Council hopes to meet with you soon."

"When this is over."

"DiNozzo," SecNav said, turning to Tony. "We're entrusting Special Agent Gibbs, your alpha-rex, into your care. He can be a pain in the butt but I trust your professionalism and your malawere skills. I'm sure Jethro will try to behave." She turned back to Gibbs. "Won't you?"

o     o     o

 

"So, what the hell happened back there?" Gibbs asked as Tony drove them to Gibbs' house to pack up.

 "I arrived in DC this morning and reported to SecNav's office," Tony replied, having shifted back to human form once they were in the car. "She took me along to the lunch in your place. Admiral Greenert and his wife were hosting it at Tingey House, so that the wives could meet each other before the formal function tomorrow night. I suggested to SecNav that she ask if she could bring me along. Me as in the dog."

"Why?"

"Why what? Why take me with her?"

"Why the dog? Why not as a man?" Gibbs looked at Tony, taking in hi's tall, muscular form and felt a sudden surge of desire grip his groin. It was the same, intense sexual surges he'd been experiencing for months now. It had been uncomfortable to say the least, battling an enormous hard-on at work and no amount of sex after-hours had sated him. That could be the reason for his shitty moods.

Now, looking at Tony DiNozzo, irritation warred with lust. The last thing he needed, or wanted, was a sexual tryst with their liaison officer. And a malawere, to boot. Still, DiNozzo was one very good-looking man, as impressive as a human as he was in his canine form. He'd never seen a malamute that size before and this particular one had a scent that was familiar yet he was unable to place it.

"You'd be surprised at how much more I learn as a dog than as a man," Tony was saying. "I guess you don't know what I'm talking about, being a wolf. Wolves don't get invited for coffee and petits fours. Malamutes, on the other hand..." he flashed Gibbs a grin. "Anyway, once they got over the shock of how big I am -" he paused suddenly to insert, "As a dog, I mean...though I'm not exactly petite as a man...down there...anyway - yes, where was I? Hmm...right. Madam Secretary was all for the idea so she called Darlene who said of course I could come and she'd make sure I had a nice boner - I mean ‘bone' - to keep me occupied. Everything was fine and, of course the ladies loved me though their perfumes always make me sneeze if they come too close. I prefer the natural scent of a body. Especially a man's. It has that wonderful fragrance that just draws -"

"Stop."

"What? We're not at your house yet." Tony slowed down nevertheless.

"I meant stop as in ‘shut up'," Gibbs growled. "If I'm stuck with you twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week for two months, I don't want you chattering non-stop in my ear. You got that?"

Tony thought about that a moment. "Okay." And shut up.

The gunman," Gibbs said, breaking the silence as they resumed their journey. "How did he get in?"

"Disguised as a server."

"SecNav. Why was she upstairs with the wives and not in the dining room with the chiefs?"

"After the main course, the ladies were invited to partake of dessert in the upstairs lounge. SecNav stayed with the men in her capacity as Secretary of the Navy but after twenty minutes said she was popping upstairs to look in on the ladies. She took me with her. "

"They let you in the dining room while they were eating?"

Tony looked pointedly at Gibbs. "I am a very well-behaved, very well-trained dog. There were no Muslims on the guestlist and all the men were impressed with me. I laid beside SecNav's Jimmy Choos and gnawed on my marrow bone.

"Anyway, I was upstairs with SecNav and the wives when a server entered pushing a covered trolley laden with the coffee and petit fours. No one really paid attention until he whipped out his AK47 from under the trolley. Lots of screaming ensued and I hopped off the couch where I had been holding court. Gunman herded everyone to the couch, told SecNav to sit in the center and said if they did as they were told no one would get hurt."

"There was just him? One gunman in that room?"

"Just him."

"What did they want? No ransom demand was made."

"As SecNav said - you."

"It was a hit."

"Yes. The fact that the gunman knew who SecNav was struck her as significant. She asked him what they wanted. He asked where you were because you weren't downstairs. SecNav told him you didn't attend the lunch and he called his accomplice. Short conversation. He hung up then said we'd all sit tight and wait for you to arrive. He told SecNav once you heard she was being held, you'd be rushing over. They made it look like the targets were the foreign Navy chiefs and their wives but you were the real target. When they realized you weren't here, SecNav became bait. Another accomplice was outside watching the drama. He took a video of you climbing into the house then sent it to the gunmen. Both of them, I presume."

"Damn. We'd made sure the news reporters kept that quiet." Gibbs smacked the steering wheel. "Damn cell phones."

 "I was watching our gunman all this while, of course. That's how I saw the video and watched you climb into the attic. The element of surprise was now on you, not them. I had to do something. And fast. When he moved SecNav to the window, presumably so her hostage status could be seen, I rushed at him and pushed him through the window. More screams, of course, because it made a racket. His gun went off but he was already through the window. As you can see, I'm big. Much bigger than the biggest male malamute that's ever existed even if I'm just a regular six-two in human form.

"So this five-nine or so shrimp of a guy didn't stand a chance when my two hundred and twenty-pound giant canine jumped him. We both went crashing down, he hit the roof of the porch and tumbled off to the ground."

"His throat was ripped out, DiNozzo" Gibbs pointed out. "He bled to death. His windpipe was severed. How did _that_ happen?" He had a suspicion but it was so unlikely he'd dismissed it.

"Oh." Tony paused. "I suppose I could have missed when I bit him. We were in the midst of crashing through the window, after all."

"You _bit_ him? Why? You already shoved him through the window. Smashing through the window frame and glass would have destabilized him, if not knocked him unconscious. The man tumbled off the porch roof onto the driveway. He would have suffered a broken leg, at most, but you ripped out his throat. You are aware we can't interrogate dead perps, don't you? And aren't you malaweres supposed to be negotiators? Talkers rather than do-ers? _Talk_ the gunman out of his weapon?"

Tony grinned sheepishly. "You know how it is. They're just generalities. By the way I love your man-scent. Do you know you don't have a shifter scent just like me? Other shifters can't detect me."

"Don't try to distract me. Why did you kill the perp?"

"Honest. I didn't plan to. I just wanted to shock his system," Tony said. "Two hundred pounds leaping on you and a set of fangs...I was aiming for his ST9. It's an acuppressure point on the neck. When struck it causes loss of consciousness...and a host of other nasty complications. Well, I was aiming for that and..." his voice trailed off. Gibbs glared at him. "Well, I was a _dog_ in there!" Tony said in his own defense. "I have paws, not fingers. Spock's Vulcan Nerve Pinch is beyond my capabilities. I had to improvise so I used my incisors. I figured my fangs could act like finger points on the gunman's ST9. But we both went crashing through the window, his gun went flying - discharged once - and when we both landed on the porch roof, my fangs um...pierced his neck and when I rolled off him, I kinda took his throat and windpipe with me." Tony stole a glance at Gibbs. "Purely unintentional. Hey, look, we're here." He turned into another tree-lined avenue."

"I know my own house, DiNozzo," Gibbs snapped.

"Yeah, of course. Um, we'll be heading for Little Falls once you're packed."

 "Little Falls, West Virginia, Little Falls, New York or Little Falls, Maryland?" Gibbs asked.

"Haha. Very funny. Little Falls Branch, to be more accurate. Know the Chain Bridge?"

"Yeah."

"That's where we're going...and before you argue or balk, remember you promised SecNav your full cooperation."

"Will I be considered uncooperative if I ask why the hell I'm packing and moving to Maclean?"

"Not quite that far," Tony grinned. "Just five hundred meters or so after the Chain Bridge. Jonas will be arriving tomorrow morning. We'll conduct a full briefing after breakfast but I'm guessing your team members will want to know asap why they've been removed from NCIS so we can give them a brief rundown while waiting for Jonas and company to arrive. Why you're even asking me this? I'm pretty sure SecNav told me you've already been told about being moved to the safehouse - my residence, by the way - and which happens to be in Little Falls Branch near Maclean."

"Do you always talk this much?"

"Yes." Again, that blinding grin. Gibbs ignored the twinge in his groin.

"You'll get along well with Abby, then."

"Abigail Sciuto," Tony said. "Goth scientist extraordinaire. Can't wait to meet her."

"Who else will be staying at the task force facility?"

"The entire team, including yours from NCIS."

"Wait. Did you say this place in Little Falls is your home?" Gibbs asked as they got out of the vehicle. "You're supposed to take me to the task force facility."

"I did. I am. That's where I live - at the task force facility. The task force took over my private residence. Leases the property from me. We'll be living and working from my home until this is over. Know the Beatles song -" and he broke into the chorus of ‘Come Together', complete with a beat-box effect.

Gibbs contemplated that for a moment, wondering how long he'd last before DiNozzo drove him nuts.

o     o     o

Tony thought he ought to give himself a pat on the back. This entire afternoon had sapped his strength. And he wasn't thinking about the incident at the Naval Yard.

After the drama was over and he'd seen Jethro come out of Tingey House he'd wanted to run to him, to wrestle him to the ground and lick him all over. Jethro's hair had gone mostly silver though strands of charcoal were still there. He looked wonderful. His startling good looks had aged very well and he had kept himself trim, his muscled shoulders stretching his suit. All wolf shifters are lean and muscled, unlike some canine and feline species of shifters who can start to put on weight if they happen to like the tv remote too much. Jethro's wolf metabolism and genetics meant he could wolf down a Big Mac and fries three times a day and not get any excess fat on his body. It's the one thing Tony envied the wolf shifters for.

He'd been so tempted to tell Jethro who he was right away but he didn't. He wanted Jethro to realize, on his own, who Tony was.

o     o     o

He was now torn between elation at being reunited with Jethro and disappointment that their encounter twenty years ago had meant so little to Jethro that the man didn't sense the slightest bit of familiarity. Not even a whit of ‘ _have we met before_ '. What kind of shifter was that? And he was their king? Tony couldn't help a snort.

What an anti-climax. Jethro didn't look like he'd recognize him even if he stood naked in front of him and stuck his asshole in his face. Since he was in his shifted form when SecNav introduced them, he wasn't expecting anything different apart from disdain. But when he'd shifted into human form, there was still zilch reaction from Jethro. The man looked Tony over as if he was a slimy used-car salesman.

Tony supposed he couldn't blame Jethro. He looked nothing like the kid Jethro fucked twenty years ago. His hair was now clipped short and his skin clear and healthy. Not a single acne scar. Those sea-green eyes were no longer hidden behind those thick glasses and he was no longer the lanky, skinny nerd with the teen voice cracking at the most inopportune moments.

As they pulled up outside Jethro's house and they exited the vehicle, Tony wondered he could get Jethro to realize who he was without having to tell him.

And what about Jonas? Would  Jethro recognize Jonas? What if he recognized Jonas but not Tony?

 

\----------

**TBC**

\----------


	22. PART FOUR: REUNION - CHAPTER 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I planned to post 2 chapters this weekend but a close relative died suddenly (his wife is a sobbing mess!) and I'm off to the funeral so it'll have to be just one chapter:(

PART FOUR - CHAPTER 22

**REUNION**

 

 

It took them only twenty minutes to clean out the fridge, empty the garbage bin and pack Gibbs' clothes.

"If you left anything behind, I'll send someone to come back for it," Tony said, getting into the driver's seat. "Yes, Jethro, _I'm_ driving," he added emphatically, recalling what it was like going on a road trip with Jethro.

Gibbs must have looked at him funny because Tony gave another one of those heart-stopping grins and asked, "What?"

Gibbs didn't answer. Just cocked his head and smiled.

"You're thinking I'm a pussy, aren't you? And a spoilt one because I have people to fetch and carry for me." Again, Gibbs merely smiled at him but Tony could read the message on Gibbs' face - ‘spoilt pussy'.

"I have several ‘someones' and...three very special ‘someone's. There's Zolar, my chauffeur cum bodyguard, who is right behind us, and Carissa, my lovely assistant. She handles all the administrative details. Then there's Hoitink. She...or he, handles the clean-up."

" _You_ need a bodyguard?" Gibbs scoffed.

"I'm a very valuable asset, as it happens. I'm never without back up because I know my limitations and, unlike some of my charges, know that I'm of no use to my bosses if I'm dead. And, unlike some of my charges, know better than to give their protective detail a hard time. A co-operative protectee is a smart protectee. And alive."

Now amused, Gibbs glanced at Tony. "Are you trying to manipulate me?"

"I would not dare," Tony said with a straight face. "You're the alpha-rex. Top dog. Numero Uno."

Gibbs looked at the younger man's fingers. Long. Nails manicured. If it hadn't been for this afternoon, it would have been impossible for him to believe Tony DiNozzo had ever done a day's manual work. Considering he didn't actually witness DiNozzo attacking the gunman, perhaps reports of the malawere's prowess were exaggerations. He watched DiNozzo flex his fingers then curl them around the steering wheel. _Those fingers belong around my cock._

"What kind of name is Hoitink?"

"Not sure. Dutch, maybe."

 "You don't know if she is a he or not?" Gibbs asked, not because he was that interested in DiNozzo's employees but because he needed to pull his attention away from the sudden sexual grip on his groin. Not just there - the sharp lust for Tony was coursing through his body, leaving him humming. He was beginning to have a suspicion why he was feeling this way about DiNozzo but he'd have to run it by Ducky first. And that would have to wait.

"No, I don't," Tony replied. "But since Hoitink's gender isn't relevant to her job, I don't ask."

"She's your cleaner?"

"Yes."

"What's so special about her? You said you had three very special someones."

"They're trained fighters with skills neither you nor I have. When I don't require those umm, special skills, they go about their regular duties. And Hoitink isn't a cleaning lady in the usual sense of the term. She _cleans up_ after a kill."

Gibbs looked at him, then. Really looked. "You're not a typical malawere, then."

"No more typical than you are as a wolf shifter. For instance, wolf shifters don't spend their nights alone in the basement. Vampires do that. You're anti-social. At least, that's what I was warned, whereas shifters, generally, love company. We are, after all, pack animals. And lastly, you're gay."

Gibbs didn't react to that last comment. Not visibly, anyway.

"There aren't many gay wolf shifters," Tony mused. "But that could be because wolf shifters tend to be - well, homophobic's too harsh a word - unsupportive? Insensitive? All those gay slurs and jokes...is it any wonder gay shifters are dug deep in their closets."

Gibbs thought about Dwayne, Callen, and a couple of other male alphas he'd met. All great warriors. All gay. While they weren't exactly in the closet, they'd never flaunted their sexual orientation either. He wondered how his own orientation, being the alpha-rex, would change things. For the better, he hoped.

"Though I must say I admire Alpha-Borin," Tony added. "That lady has balls. Last I heard, the lady has five - _five!_ \- life-mates." He hooted. "Then there's the biggie - the Seer never said anything about our new king being gay." He glanced at Gibbs who was staring stonily ahead. "Am I talking too much?"

Gibbs gave him a glare but said nothing.

"I'm going to stop and buy dinner home," Tony said. "You can wait in the car, if you like. I ordered the usual - fried rice, mu shoo pork, chop suey and Mongolian beef. Anything else you'd like?" Gibbs was happy with the selection and Tony stopped by a Chinese restaurant in Georgetown

They reached Chain Bridge Road a few minutes later and the houses had become markedly larger and a different category altogether. It brought to mind the house Gibbs had met that kid back in ‘95. Was this Tony next to him the same Tony he'd spent the night with 20 years ago? He stole a glance at him as DiNozzo kept his focus on the road. DiNozzo, 'this Tony', looked too different - the jawline was stronger, the nose more chiseled and DiNozzo's skin was tanned with a slight blush over his cheeks. The boy Gibbs remembered, had been pasty-faced with puppy fat around his face and jaw; 'that Tony's' features had been rounder and softer and that giant zit on his nose had been impossible to ignore. It had burst on their road trip when the kid had tried to stifle a sneeze by squeezing his nose. Pus had squirted out and splat on the windshield. A new zit developed a few days later. There was no sign of this Tony ever having had skin problems. The skin on his face was as flawless as a man's could be even though he did have a light shadow over his jaw. Gibbs noticed a few small nicks on the side of the forehead, expected if the man was an agent who'd seen action.

His undeniable attraction to DiNozzo was also vastly different from the need that had driven him to fuck a sixteen year-old that summer. Back then he'd never been particularly discriminate - but this attraction to DiNozzo, it was real attraction. It wasn't borne out of sheer need where any hole would do. For the first time, Gibbs felt true desire, a genuine attraction towards another.

Damn! This was going to be a problem. Unless he got it out of his system. Fast.

o     o     o

 

The property was at the end of a gated driveway off the Chain Bridge Road which ran alongside the Potomac.

"We're here," Tony announced. "Home for the next two months."

The house was one of those contemporary designs made up of sections sort of stuck together at different levels like a Lego construction, with one section suspended over the bluff. It was an odd place to have as a top-secret task force facility, Gibbs thought and it didn't look secure to him, all that glass and wood - more like one of those fancy homes from the cover of Architectural Digest. Halfway down the driveway, the road split off and Tony took the right fork. He took out his cell phone and informed whoever was on the other end that he and Gibbs were approaching the entrance.

"Affirmative. We got you on screen," the person at the other end of the phone responded.

The road sloped downwards, heading into what looked like an underground garage. The shutters rose as their vehicle approached. It wasn't a garage, but a tunnel.

"This takes us to the task force facility underground," Tony said. "My living quarters are what you see above ground, but the two are integrated. You'll see."

They tunnel opened out to an underground parking lot half-filled with an assortment of vehicles - sedans, jeeps, paneled vans and a couple of armored trucks.

"We'll go up to the house first," Tony said, as they entered a glass and steel-framed elevator. "I'll show you how to access the facility from our living quarters."

"Armored glass." Tony pointed out as we exited the elevator and he strode through the house, pounding on the glass walls. "Entire house above and below ground is constructed of reinforced steel. The wood you see is just a veneer. Every room has connecting escape tunnels built into the walls."

Tony's voice had completely lost its conversational tone and his face had taken on a cold, impassive mask. The change struck Gibbs and he wondered what else there was about DiNozzo he had yet to see. It suddenly occurred to him that killing the gunman might not have been an accident as DiNozzo claimed.

Zolar, Gibbs realized, was following them, keeping a discreet distance. If Gibbs hadn't thought to look for him, he wouldn't have known the man was there.

Do you mind eating now?" Tony asked. "I'm hungry."

Gibbs shrugged. "Fine by me."

"Who lives here, apart from you?" Gibbs asked as they ate seated at the island counter of a huge kitchen.

"Zolar and Hoitink," Tony replied. "Carissa has her own place. She's on maternity leave so you won't meet her. Guests here would be the people I'm providing security to and operatives I'm working a mission with."

"So my team will be living here?"

"Yes, I've assigned them suites on the same floor as us. Like the task force facility, the private levels are secure and requires an iris scan to access. The ground floor is unsecured as I entertain guests from time to time."

After our quick dinner, Tony took me up to our living quarters on the upper levels. The iris scan opened the doors to a comfortable lounge, complete with a large TV and several sofas. A raised dining area with a table for six and a well-stocked bar completed the suite.

"There are two separate wings on this floor. This is yours. And mine. Jonas', too. Jax and the others will be in the other wing," Tony said. "Both wings have a common lounge like this one.

"Is my team here yet?" Gibbs asked.

"Yes, Dr. Mallard, Timothy McGee and Abby have already been settled and should be at their stations in the Facility." There were several large three-D modern-art features on the walls with a potted plant between each one. He went to one of them and pressed a colored square which turned out to be a large button. There was a click and the entire picture frame slid ajar. He opened it to reveal a narrow staircase. "These stairs take you to the helipad on the rooftop as well as the rest of the levels above."

"The other wing has one of these stairways?" Gibbs asked.

"Yes. The entire house has passages and stairways to lead you out of any room. They are all connected so there are no dead ends. In the event of a siege or a nuclear attack we can hole ourselves down in the basement for three years, if necessary, assuming the rest of the capital is unsafe above ground."

"Who knows about these secret passages?"

"Only the security detail and my personal staff - Zolar, Carissa and Hoitink. Before this, my staff and I were the only ones who knew, aside from Trent Kort."

"Why so elaborate?"

"The people whose safety I'm responsible for are, for whatever reason, indispensable. At that point in time, anyway. Could be a mob informant with friends and enemies in high places, or even the President of the United States. Most times, they are foreign dignitaries who are seeking asylum. We have to be prepared for a quick exit in the event of an attack. Bedroom's this way."

Gibbs followed him down a short hallway. The bedroom was spacious, with a California King, a double-seater sofa and chairs in a corner beside the picture window, and a coffee table. Nothing else. Not even a TV. DiNozzo seemed like the type to have a TV in his bedroom so the absence of one was another surprise. It was also a very masculine room - all dark monotones offset by lighter shades and the stark white sheets of the enormous bed.

"This your bedroom?" Gibbs asked.

"Yes. You don't mind, do you? I thought it would be easier than moving my stuff into one of the other bedrooms. But we can do that if you'd rather."

"I don't mind if you don't. It's your private space being invaded."

Tony had to bite his tongue not to say ‘ _besides you've already slept in my bed._ ' "We access the Facility through here." He pressed a corner of the bed's platform and the entire bed, platform and mattress, tilted up, revealing a stairway descending to darkness. "Come on. Let's go meet the team."

Gibbs followed Tony down the stairs, saw him press a button on the wall and the light came on as the bed started closing back down. The passage wasn't long, about the length of the suite and they came to a set of doors. An elevator.

Despite his concentration on their surroundings, Gibbs couldn't help being acutely aware of the man beside him. He fought the urge to reach out and touch him, closing his eyes briefly as the surge of desire engulfed him.

"You okay?" Tony asked, looking curiously at Gibbs. "You sure you're not claustrophobic?"

"I'm fine. How far down are we going?"

"About a hundred feet below ground level. The tunnel goes under the Potomac and emerges on the other side. You'll see it after we tour the facilities on this side."

The elevator finally stopped and opened out to what looked like the NCIS bullpen. Minus the orange walls and view of the Navy Yard. There were more people at work than Gibbs expected, and the entire facility far more extensive. There was a lot more going on down here than just a Diplomatic Security Service special agent's safe house.

"What are they doing?" Gibbs asked, looking up at the monitors on the walls.

"Prep work. They're getting us hooked up with the rest of the wolf packs around the country. Each pack has an investigative team. That's what Jonas has been doing - conferring with the alphas and mobilizing their teams. Your deputy's meeting with Jonas and the rest as we speak."

"When did all this happen? Just when did Operation Blood Moon begin? Obviously not this morning when SecNav told me about it. And this looks like a helluva lot more than just keeping me safe. What, exactly, is going on, DiNozzo?"

Tony looked at Gibbs then sighed. "The Joint-Council first met six months ago in Geneva but not about the shifter and vampire murders or about your assassination plot. The meeting was to plan for better ties between the vampires and shifters."

"I know about that. SecNav told me about it this morning. I"m talking about _that!_ " Gibbs jabbed his finger at the personnel huddled in front of monitors, in animated discussion. On the monitors, scenes of rioting and carnage were being played, some familiar as they had been on the news previously.

"I'm getting to that," Tony said. "Soon after that joint-council meeting, they got intel about the assassination as well as the rogue weres and vampires. I had already agreed to act as liaison between the two groups for that mega-PR exercise but when the contract on you was discovered and the plot to derail the unification plans, I was asked to handle your protective detail and to make my residence available as the task force facility until Operation Blood Moon wraps. Operation Blood Moon is about more than keeping you alive until September 27. The number of attacks have been increasing. There's mob violence breaking out in various cities incited, we believe, by the rogue weres. You weren't told because the shifter council put a gag order on the incidents. Preparations to quell the rioting and monitor the hotspots began a few months back but the personnel was brought in only a couple of days ago. The second joint-council meeting was only two days ago, in Geneva - the one SecNav flew back from this morning. Once the joint-council gave the greenlight for Operation Blood Moon, the facility was ready to roll."

"And if the joint-council had voted ‘no'?"

"Have you ever known Sarah Porter to get a ‘no'? With the Count married to a former NCIS Director? And Ducky on the panel? The vote was for formality, Alpha-Jethro. If you want to know why you, being the incoming alpha-rex wasn't told, you'll have to ask SecNav or Ducky. I was just given orders. Not reasons."

Tony led them to another room where there were more technicians, their eyes glued to terminals. Each person had, at least, 3 monitor screens. None of them seem to notice the two men's presence until Gibbs heard his name called out.

"Gibbs!" It was McGee, looking both wide-eyed with awe and tension. "You just got here? Who else is here?"

"Abby should be here by now. Haven't you seen her?"

"No," McGee replied. "I was told not to talk to anyone about this, that it's a top-secret assignment. It was SecNav who spoke to me face to face back at NCIS after the shooting.. She told me I'd be working with you but that was all. I don't know what the assignment is about or how long it's going to be for. All I know is that I'm being paid hazard pay and I do have the option to turn it down...except uhh, I am never to disclose the existence of this place...on pain of death. Boss, I think I'm supposed to take that last bit literally. What's going on, Gibbs?"

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs called out.

Tony excused himself from the people he was talking to. "Yes, Alpha-Jethro."

"I'd like us to have a meeting with both McGee and Abby. Ducky. too,"

"Ducky's here, too?" McGee asked.

"Yes, we will," Tony said, replying to Gibbs. "Tomorrow morning, when the rest of the team arrives." He turned to McGee. "I suggest you take a break, MxGee. I'm about to take us to the exit tunnel. Come with us. We can all meet up tomorrow at eight in the dining room. Breakfast is from six to nine at Level Zero - that's the house above ground. We'll adjourn to the facility for your briefing after that."

"What about Abby?" McGee asked.

"She's already back in her suite," Tony replied.

They took a buggy through a long tunnel and an elevator took them up into what looked like a room in any ordinary family home.

"Where are we?" McGee asked, looking around. "Weren't we under the house? I mean that huge Lego house where we're staying in."

"This is the task force's accommodations for the duration of Operation Blood Moon. We are now on the other side of the Potomac, parallel to the Clara Barton Parkway. We call this Unit B and the task force facility, Unit A. This is a residential area on the corner where Ridge Road meets Broad Street. The curved, gated driveway provides privacy from the neighbors. Since it's a butt-ugly mansion, they won't think it odd that there are a lot of visitors going in and out every day."

"Why are Abby  and I staying at the Lego House and not here with the rest of the task force?" McGee asked.

Ignoring McGee's nickname for his home, Tony replied, "We thought Alpha-Jethro would prefer to have him team close by."

"Why are you calling him ‘Alpha-Jethro?" McGee asked, frowning.

 

\-----------

TBC

\-----------


	23. PART FOUR: REUNION - CHAPTER 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update: Wednesday, 4 November 2015 at 2:00:00 AM EST (Washington, DC time)
> 
> Minor revisions re. Arras Vartanian/Nick. No impact on the plot so it's not necessary to reread the chapter.

 

 

PART FOUR - CHAPTER 23

**REUNION**

 

After their tour of the facilities they retired to their suite at ten, for which he was thankful as he needed some quiet time to digest the day's events. DiNozzo did have a TV in his bedroom, after all. A 60-inch which descended from the ceiling.

"Watch some TV?" Tony patted the empty space next Gibbs.

 "You're sleeping here?" Gibbs asked with consternation. "With me?"

"Twenty-four seven, Alpha Jethro."

"Drop the ‘alpha', would you? I'm Gibbs. Or Jethro."

"Okay. Jethro, it is. And yes, as your primary protective detail, I go where you go. I eat, work, piss and sleep with you."

"Think again, you mutt," Gibbs grumbled. "I'm not taking a dump with you in the head."

"I know. That's why the bathroom has a glass wall, like a five-star hotel. As long as you're within sight and close enough, it's fine with me. Now, relax, Jethro. We got an early start. Jonas and the rest of your protective detail should be arriving by eight. Is the light from the TV bothering you?"

"No," Gibbs grunted and settled back down on the bed. He looked at DiNozzo's bare, muscled chest, the light smattering of hair trailing down to disappear under his thin boxer shorts. The outline of DiNozzo's cock was visible under the soft silk and Gibbs cussed under his breath.

"I can sleep at the foot of the bed if you like," Tony said.

"Shut up."

Tony did, and as Gibbs slept, he remained awake, listening to the night music. Tomorrow he'd see Jonas. Even one night away from his wolf lover felt unbearable and they hadn't even commenced their bonding ritual. What would it be like when Jethro realized who they were and claimed them?

o     o     o

"I need to talk to see Mike Franks," Gibbs said to Tony the next morning.

"He should be here any minute," Tony said. When he saw the look of surprise on Gibbs' face, he added, "Mike is part of the task force but before you tear into him for not telling you, he was read in only a day before you were so he only knows as much as you do. In any case, if he wasn't brought into the team, I would have requested it. I know you're both very close and he was your mentor. You would have wanted him with you."

 That revelation surprised Gibbs. He might have to revise his perception of Tony DiNozzo. "Thanks," he said, relieved when Tony went into the bathroom. He'd stripped off the boxers he'd worn to sleep and had been padding around the bedroom stark naked, his cock, sporting a healthy morning wood, bobbing as he walked and driving Gibbs insane.

"You're welcome, Jethro." That smile again.

Gibbs' gut clenched. He was going to have to set some rules. First one would be no nudity. DiNozzo didn't just look good - all those rippling muscles on his tall frame, but he smelled so delicious Gibbs wanted to devour him.

Escaping from the bedroom, he decided he'd go in search of McGee. He'd just opened the door when a figure flew at him, knocking him and the door back.

"Gibbs!Gibbs!Gibbs! Omigawd! This place is right out of a movie! And that DSS agent? Tony? He. Is. Hawt. McGee is _so_ excited. So am I -" she stopped short when Tony rushed into the lounge with a Sig in his hands. He came to a halt when he saw Abby and expelled a breath of relief. Without a word, he turned and went back into the bedroom.

"What is he, umm, doing in your bedroom?" Abby asked.

"It's his room, actually. These are his private quarters."

"Oh." She digested that for a moment. "That's why he's naked."

Gibbs ignored that. "Go on down. Tony and I will be down shortly. Ducky and McGee are at breakfast already."

"Are they going to tell us why we're here?" Abby asked.  "I mean, like what the project is? They're not just going to give us our individual tasks and we just do it, no questions? You know what happened six years ago..."

"I know, Abs. You won't be used to build any biological weapons," Gibbs assured her but quickly added, "Might just be worse - or your fantasy come true."

"What do you mean? What fantasy?"

"You'll see."

Tony came out of the bedroom, dressed in faded Levis and a white t-shirt. "I smell bacon." His stomach growled loudly in agreement. And a lovely lady wearing Gardenia Passion by Annick Goutal.

o     o     o

It was just like being back at NCIS, Gibbs thought, as the team passed around platters of a traditional Southern breakfast. Once a month, he'd invite the team over for a weekend brunch. He'd provide the steaks, McGee the drinks and Abby and Bishop would contribute whatever they came up with. Ducky would regale them with tales from his younger days and Mike Franks was always there, a fixture in his household eversince Gibbs became ‘Probie'.

With the exception of Ducky, the rest of the team were his family despite being humans. He'd approached Mike one day with the idea of telling them about what his true nature was.

"No," Mike had responded. "No way. Our orders are very clear, Probie. Nobody knows about you being a shifter until the time comes. Until then, you're just another crabby boss."

"I'm not crabby."

"You are when it's close to a full moon. You never thought about why you never invite your team over for brunch when it's a full moon?"

There was that, yeah. "They wouldn't be coming over if they didn't want to," Gibbs had countered. "McGee and Abby have been coming over for years and Bishop the minute she settled down in the team. Even Ziva did and she's not one to just go along if she didn't like it. She was always a loner."

"Chill, Probie," Mike had said. "One day they will become part of your family. And I don't mean _like_ family. I mean as in _real_ family."

 "What do you mean ‘real' family? They are humans. I'm not."

"Leave it for now. You'll know everything each at its own time."

"You're sounding like Ducky!" Gibbs had grumbled.

"You eat like this everyday?" Abby asked Tony, bringing Gibbs back to the present. _And where the hell was Mike?_ DiNozzo had introduced himself to Abby and McGee and was chatting away as if they'd known each other for years. Ducky was silently contemplating the breakfast, deciding what he would have and finally settling on toast with blueberry jam and a mocca coffee.

Tony nodded in reply to Abby's question, his mouth full of biscuit and sausage gravy. "I exercise _every_ day," he said. "I also have a high metabolism rate." _Not as high as the wolf shifters, though._

Gibbs stole another surreptitious look at Tony. He looked so good in a crisp white shirt, the sleeves rolled up to the elbows. His faded blue jeans looked soft, molding around his taut ass, making Gibbs hungry all over again. And not for the food, delicious as it was. Tony caught Gibbs looking and winked.

Gibbs looked away quickly, annoyed at being caught staring. And that wink. Wasn't he supposed to be this prophesied king of the shifters? And if so, were they allowed to wink at him? He recalled the two US Marshals who had picked him up twenty years ago at that kid's house. They'd prostrated themselves when he'd jumped from the window and landed in front of them. Prostrated. Very deferent. It figured that his full time bodyguard would turn out to be an irreverent ass.

"I thought you said Mike would be here any minute," Gibbs said to Tony. He'd barely finished the sentence than Mike entered the dining room.

"Mornin' Probie. Sorry, I'm late."

"It's okay,"  Gibbs said and  stood up.

"Mike!" Abby exclaimed. "You're part of this?" Mike inclined his head. "I sure am."

"C'mon," Gibbs said. "I gotta talk to you before the briefing starts."

"Urgent, huh?"

"Yes. It's important. I tried calling you last night but got a damned message instead."

"I was...preoccupied." Mike smirked. "You didn't call again so I figured it wasn't urgent and we were meeting in the morning."

Gibbs tilted his head for Mike to follow. "Oh Ducky -" he paused at Ducky's chair. "I need to have a private word with you, too."

"Certainly, Alpha Jethro."

Abby leaned in to whisper in McGee's ear. "You heard that? _Alpha Jethro_? You know what that term implies, don't you?"

"Well, Gibbs isn't what I'd call a beta," McGee whispered back.

"McGee!" Abby hissed exasperatedly.

"What?" McGee asked, puzzled by Abby's reaction.

"Would you like more coffee?" Ducky asked, breaking up the tete-a-tete.

o     o     o

 

 "Mike, something's happening inside me," Gibbs said, when the two men found a private spot. At the lift of Mike's brow, Gibbs elaborated. "I'm not turning into something else. It's nothing like that. It's DiNozzo."

"DiNozzo?" Mike laughed. "He got you making breakfast for him? That's what getting you all worked up?"

"This is serious." Mike made a exaggerated show of sobering up. "Why am I feeling this way about him?"

"What way?"

"You know!"

"What? Exasperated? Irritated? He's a malawere. Deal with it."

"No. I mean why do I feel like throwing him over the nearest desk or couch and fucking him senseless?"

Mike blinked at him then burst out laughing.

"It's not funny," Gibbs growled.

"No, you're wrong about that. It's the damned funniest thing I've heard in my life! You - Leroy Jethro Gibbs, the destined Alpha-rex, has the hots for a malamute!" He laughed again, shoulders shaking away. "Unbelievable! A canine. You're hot for a dog!" More laughter.

It took a few minutes before Mike could get himself under control but once he did, he sobered up fast. "I'm not sure you want the answer to your question. In fact, it's best you get Ducky to tell you. I've just got a suspicion but Ducky can confirm it."

"What's your suspicion?"

"Just something I overheard," Mike said and started walking away. "Ask Ducky."

"Tell me, dammit!"

Mike stopped in his tracks and turned around. "DiNozzo's your life-mate."

Gibbs stared mutely at Mike's retreating back.

o     o     o

 

"Coffee machine there," Tony said, pointing to it. "Freshly-ground beans, too. Take a seat inside. I'll bring you a cup."

It took all of Gibbs' self-control not to drag DiNozzo off and ask him if he knew anything about the life-mate thing. Life-mate ‘thing', or shifter bonding was a major unit at the shifter orientation. He'd promptly forgot about it since he'd never felt strongly enough about anyone to contemplate bonding with her. Or him. Besides, he _did_ like being alone and having close friends like Mike and Dwayne meant, as far as shifter life was concerned, he had family. Then there was Abby and McGee so in the human realm, he was fine there, too. He'd even incorporated a heterosexual lifestyle into his own natural homosexuality, for reasons of convenience and not because of fear. He'd been reasonably satisfied. Or so he thought.

Now, within hours, if not minutes, of meeting Tony DiNozzo, he felt as if the hole in him he never knew was there, had yawned open like the mouth of a hungry baby bird, impatient to be fed.

He scrubbed his face with his palm. How was he going to concentrate on the briefing with _this_ on his mind! DiNozzo, his life-mate. A friggin' malamute who was anything but mute.

He took a seat at the back of the room so that he could observe the rest of the task force members, whom Tony said, had arrived and were making their way down. Abby, McGee and Ducky were seated in the middle of the room, talking in hushed voices.

Voices and laughter sounded and Gibbs looked at the doorway as a group of men and women filed in. His eyes went immediately to the two tallest men - the one with dark hair clipped very short and piercing green eyes was a couple of inches shorter. The taller man, at least six-four, had streaky dark-blond hair, giving him a leonine look. His turqoise-colored eyes scanned the room and rested briefly on Gibbs. Both men were brown from the outdoors and dark stubble covered their jaws. Deep dimples punctured their cheeks. They could have been twins if not for the hair and eye color.

Startlingly goodlooking as the blue-eyed man was, it was the green-eyed one that drew Gibbs' attention. The newcomer was looking directly at him and holding his gaze.

Once again, for the second time in twenty-four hours, Gibbs felt the flare of desire bursting inside him, along with the one he was still feeling for DiNozzo. He swallowed thickly and looked around for Mike. He needed to get the bottom of this. The turmoil going on inside him was preventing him from focusing on the task at hand.

It rattled him, this unusually strong desire for the two men. The sharp throb of lust ripping through him stunned him. He'd never felt this for anyone in his life. All his sexual encounters had been borne out of a body's natural need for release. Never had he wanted anyone with a yearning so deep it went beyond the physical. He wanted to bury himself in this newcomer, as he wanted to do in DiNozzo. He needed to become part of them and make them a part of himself. This was _not_ good. This was not at all the time to be distracted, no matter how attractive the men were.

"Heads-up, boys and girls," Tony called out. "Let me introduce Alpha Leroy Jethro Gibbs, NCIS Forensic Scientist Abigail Sciuto and NCIS Special Agent Timothy McGee." Abby and McGee waved. "Alpha Jethro, is our silver fox at the back of the room. He needs no introduction to you vis-à-vis NCIS but to us, he is - or will be - Alpha-One Jethro come September 27.."

The two dozen men and women in the audience, including the two newcomers, made a beeline to Gibbs and each man went on one knee before him, head bowed. The women did a small bob, heads also bowed before addressing him. "Alpha-One Jethro, your servant..."

One by one they introduced themselves while Abby gaped at the scene. Next to her, McGee, too, was doing a fine imitation of a fish out of water. They looked at each other and McGee whispered, "Are we being punk'd?"

"I don't think so," Abby whispered back. "I can't see Gibbs telling a joke, never mind being part of a practical one."

"Then what the hell was that?"

"I'm sure they'll tell us," Abby replied. "Dwayne Pride is here, too."

"I know, I saw him," McGee said.

"This briefing," Tony began, as everyone returned to their seats. "Is to bring everyone up to date with Operation Blood Moon and to introduce you to our Alpha One, Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Alpha-One Jethro is his informal title. For now, that is. He is to be addressed as such, or ‘Alpha-One' without the name unless. Alpha Jethro's fine, too. But, we're pretty casual here so if you forget and address him as Jethro or Gibbs, relax - you won't lose your head." Tony paused, then said, "Alpha-One, this our task force's Command Executive Officer - Jonas Raven."

Jonas stood, faced Gibbs and gave a curt nod before sitting back down.

"And this is Alpha Jax Theron, CXO of KnightShadows Inc, a private security company," Tony continued. "As CXO of Operation Blood Moon, Jonas will lead the mission and oversee all aspects of the mission. He will also, with me, be Alpha-One's close protection officers. We are supported by a team you see here in this room. The support team is responsible for perimeter security. This covers all areas outside Alpha One's bedroom suite. As primary, Jonas and I will be guarding Alpha Jethro twenty-four seven.

"Alpha Jax," Tony said to the audience. "Led the investigation which uncovered the plot to assassinate Alpha Jethro before he ascends the shifter throne. Jax will be co-directing Operation Blood Moon with Raven. Alpha Dwayne Pride, who needs no introduction, is the XO for Alpha Jethro's overall protection detail," Tony continued. "Dwayne will introduce you to the rest of his team after the briefing. First, where are we and why have you been brought here...but before I answer that, we need to address something else. Ms Sciuto -"

Abby raised her hand. "Abby. If that's okay."

"Abby," Tony smiled at her. "Do you believe in vampires?"

Abby looked at McGee. "Er, well...scientifically-speaking..."

"Do you believe in God?"

"Yes," Abby replied.

"Can Science prove, empirically, that God exists? Never mind. How about werewolves? Or more accurately, shifters?"

"Shifters?" Abby blinked at him. "You mean like a human shifting into a wolf, or another animal?"

"Yes."

"Is this a trick question?" She whispered to McGee without taking her eyes off Tony but McGee didn't answer. She turned to Gibbs, the question in her eyes. She saw Gibbs give a nod and turned back to Tony. "Of course I believe in vampires and shifters." Beside her, McGee rolled his eyes. "I just haven't seen one though there is one woman I'm sure is a vampire." She looked round at Gibbs again and hissed, "Allison Hart!"

Gibbs' lips twitched. Abby never liked Hart and thought her presumptuous and sly. He nodded towards Tony and Abby returned her attention to the front.

"You know vampires and shifters as figments of an author's imagination," Tony continued. "Or myths handed down through history. The truth is actually far richer and more complex than humans know.

"Vampires and shifters have existed long before humans became a civilized society.  Today, there are hundreds of thousands of shifters and  a few hundred vampires scattered worldwide. Considering the total population of the planet is a little over 7 billion, we are a minority."

Abby leaned towards McGee and whispered again, "‘ _We_ '?" McGee slid his gaze to Abby, still silent. This was seriously creeping him out.

Tony went on to give McGee and Abby a summary of the events that led to the setting up of the task force.

"Is this some Halloween joke?" Abby asked, her eyes moving back and forth between her NCIS colleagues and the others.

"It's not a joke, Abs," Gibbs said, getting up and going up to her. "We are all shifters. I'm a wolf shifter, as most of us are but some are other animals. No vampires present, but SecNav is one. Sarah Porter is the President of the Vampire Association." He noted Abby's and McGee's expressions and said, "I know it's incredible but it's real. All of it. You are here today because we need your help to contain an outbreak of violence amongst the North American shifters. We have to contain it so that it doesn't spread. At the same time, it's DiNozzo's responsibility to keep me safe until I'm officially made alpha-rex of the North American shifters following the Blood Moon eclipse on September 27 this year."

Two pairs of very wide eyes grew even wider, if that were possible.

"Alpha-rex?" Abby echoed. "‘Rex' as in king?

"Yes, king of the shifters," Tony replied. "It's a very special position, one that is prophesied, not handed down through the family. Alpha Jethro is our prophesied king and he carries the markings as evidence."

"What markings?" Abby asked.

"You'll see," Tony replied.

"The Blood Moon date is significant in that something, apart from Alpha Jethro's instatement, is set to occur when the lunar eclipse is at its maximum," Raven said. "We do not know what that something is. We only know that Alpha Jethro has to be alive during the total eclipse. That lasts from 10:11 p.m. to 11.23pm on Sunday, September 27th this year. One hour twelve minutes. Total eclipses of super full moons are rare and this one is a Super Blood Moon."

"So, is this one of those end-of-the-world speeches?" McGee asked, speaking finally. Abby turned and frowned at him. "Well, we got this underground bunker with subterranean tunnels," he said. "One of which I'm sure leads to the White House. Or a Mexican drug lord's prison cell," he sniggered.

"McGee!" Abby hissed. "This is serious. I told you vampires and shifters exist. Just because you've never seen one doesn't mean they aren't real."

McGee gave her a droll look.

 "Enough of this," Gibbs said. Without another word, he shifted.

McGee gave a squawk and jumped on his chair. Realizing how stupid that looked, he hopped down. "This...isn't...real."

"You're a pure white wolf, boss," Abby said. "And huge. That's...," she flapped her hands. "R-really awesome." She stretched her hand out but Gibbs went right up beside her and pressed his snout on her cheek, then shifted back to human form.

And kissed her again.

While Abby stood awestruck, Gibbs motioned to Ducky who came forward. "Calm him down." He tilted his head at McGee. "Sedate him if you have to."

"I'm f-fine, b-boss," McGee said. "I am...I'm...I'm j-just -"

"Crapping your pants?" Tony asked, grinning.

Gibbs glared at him. "I thought you were supposed to be the _liaison_ officer."

"Yes, of course." Tony's grin vanished. "I was just trying to inject a bit of levity in an otherwise hair-raising moment. Alright, boys and girls, follow Alpha Jethro's lead."

And he shifted in to a huge dog, padding up to McGee and standing up on his hind legs, front paws on McGee's shoulders. He was almost a head taller than McGee, who had frozen in his spot.

Tony gave him a long wet lick on the face before going back down on all fours.

Abby rushed to him."Awww!" She grabbed Tony's massive head and kissed him. "Oh, you _gor_ geous, _bea-eww-_ tiful creature! You're a _malamute_!"

"The largest malamute in the world, at that." Jonas said. Tony went up to him and gave his face a long, wet lick. Jonas chuckled. "His body isn't the only thing that's huge." Then he shifted as well and the rest of the room followed suit. The conference room looked like a menagerie. Mostly wolves, but there was a lion and a cheetah, as well as an eagle, in the mix. Abby and McGee were the only humans, and Gibbs who had shifted back to human form.

Tony went over to Gibbs and sat beside his legs as he'd done yesterday after the drama at Tingey House. He rubbed his head against Gibbs' hand, trying to get his head patted. The surge of emotion ripped through Gibbs again and he snatched his hand away, afraid of losing his control. His body was thrumming with need and all he could think of was dragging DiNozzo back to their room. With that came the other thread of lust, snaking alongside, filling him with a double dose of desire and hunger. He looked up to see Raven staring at him. They held each other's gazes for what seemed like an eternity.

 _Those eyes_...Gibbs' breath hitched. _Who are you? I know you.  
Both of you._

Someone cleared his throat, breaking the spell. Tony had shifted back and was wrapping up his summary for Abby and McGee after which he handed the briefing to Jonas.

"Alpha Kass from North Carolina just reported another killing," Jonas said, his voice giving no hint of the emotions running underneath his professional demeanour. His training was enabling him to contain his desire to rush to Jethro and identify himself. "Victim is a sergeant based in Fort Bragg," he said. "Same MO - sucked dry but raped before he was killed. There are a dozen more in this file where the investigation is ongoing." He passed the file to Abby. He glanced at Jethro. No sign of recognition from the alpha. "You'll be working with our forensic lab to get us the analytics. McGee, you'll be part of the investigative team." No surprise that Jethro hadn't recognized him or Tony. When he was with Jethro, he'd let his hair grow back to shoulder-length after it was shaved off. He'd been a skinny, scrawny kid despite his height. He was now filled out, his arms bulging with iron-hard muscles, his face, the features once rounded and pretty-boy handsome, had hardened into angular lines; his once full, soft mouth was now a slash, and his green eyes were filled with an experience that included unimaginable pain and sorrow.

"Who's heading that?" Gibbs asked.

"What?" Jonas asked.

"Who's heading the investigative team."

"Oh." Jonas gave himself a mental headslap. "Theron. There are investigative teams in every state because the killings occurred in all fifty states and DC. We're on high alert, as should you, Alpha. I'd rather you stay indoors but I doubt you'll be able to stand it for a whole week."

"No," Gibbs shook his head. "I'm not staying cooped-up indoors every day." Everyone seemed to speak at the same time.

A shrill whistle sounded from Gibbs and the voices silenced. "It's not practical to hide me away for two months, but I won't be taking walks in the park and making myself an easy target either. We keep things as normal as possible. If I suddenly go into hiding, they're bound to get suspicious."

"I agree," Jonas said, to Gibbs' surprise. "I opt for being pro-active rather than hiding away. The danger, apparently, is only between now and the lunar eclipse. The task force headquarters is fully-equipped to monitor shifter activity nationwide.

"And we're connected to every pack alpha," Jax added, pushing himself off the wall. "Unless there is a reason to visit a crime scene, we are capable of directing operations from here."

"We have a blind spot, though," Jonas said. "We don't have a vampire on the taskforce."

"V-vampires?" McGee echoed faintly.

"They're not hot on team work," Jonas said. "I couldn't get any of them to sign on."

Mike Franks snorted. "Frickin' bloodsuckers. Just as well, I suppose. Too many airs, most of them."

"What about the Vampire Association? We might find someone there."

"I doubt it," Ducky replied. "Its members are vampires in the business sector - entrepreneurs, bankers, the money-movers and shakers, industrialists. A vampire has to be of a certain socio-economic status to be considered for membership."

"We do have another vampire we can bring in," said Chai. "Arras Vartanian."

"Who the hell is that?" Mike asked, not liking the guy already.

"Arras isn't just a vampire, he's an assassin," Jax replied. "Or _was_ an assassin. He's now part of KnightShadows."

"Oh great, not just a fuckin' bloodsucker but a hitman, too," Mike muttered.

"What about Ziva?" Nick asked. _Anyone but Arras Vartanian_. "Chai?"

A man seated at the back of the room rose to his feet. "I just spoke to her last night. I'm Chai, by the way," he said to Gibbs with a small bow. "I did ask her about returning but she said no, that she hadn't completed her mission. Bu-ut...she did say if she could be of any help where she is, let her know."

"Ziva's a vampire?" Gibbs asked.

"Ziva's a vampire?" Abby echoed in awe.

Jax nodded. "Chai is Ziva's half-brother."

Abby looked at Chai curiously. "You're a shifter," she said. "How come Ziva's a vampire?"

"We suspect it's because of her mother. We have different mothers," Chai replied. "Our father is a human but my mother was a wolf shifter. She had already broken up with Eli when I was three and we went to live with her family. She never told Eli she was a shifter. After I shifted at 18, my mother told me who my father was and I joined Mossad without Eli ever knowing I was his son. It was only when he became Director of Mossad that I told him. As for Ziva, her vampire did not emerge until three years ago." Chai looked at Gibbs. "That was why she left NCIS. She needed to find the roots of that side of her family tree. She confided in me about discovering her mother is a vampire. Ziva and I became very close. A little too close for Eli's comfort so we cooled it." No one remarked on that last bit but McGee's eyes bugged a little more than it already was.

Abby nudged him with her elbow. " _Don't_ ask."

"I wasn't!" McGee hissed back indignantly.

"If Ziva isn't available then let's look at this Arras guy," Gibbs said. "How will bringing him in help us?"

"Arras still has many connections in the vampire world," Jax replied. "Connections that aren't acknowledged. It makes him a valuable asset as an undercover agent."

"I was wondering about that," Gibbs said. "We have our investigative team and I have my nannies. They're defensive measures. We don't have any operatives out at field."

I agree we need something proactive," Jonas said. "And that's being addressed. Nick is one of our undercover operatives and so is Chai. If Arras is brought on board, Nick will partner with him.

"Huh? What? Uhh..." Nick sputtered.

"A shifter with a vampire?" Gibbs asked sceptically.

"It would certainly cause talk," Jonas said. "But that would give them the opportunity to insert themselves more convincingly."

"How?" Gibbs asked.

"They go in as fugitives. We put out the word that the incoming alpha-rex is a homophobe -" Jonas' spiel was interrupted by a snort of laughter from Mike. "And that Nick was expelled from his pack for taking a vampire lover."

Gibbs nodded. "So they seek shelter with the rogue weres and vampire. I like it." He looked at Nick. "Can you pull it off? Being a vampire's lover? A gay lover?"

Nick fought down the panic. "Yeah, sure. I don't think that will be a problem at all," he replied. "Not the gay part, anyway. Arras is the one you should be asking. He's straight."

"I'm sure he'll take one for the team," Chai said.

"He will if he wants his position in KnightShadows confirmed," Jax said.

"You'll set it up with Arras then?" Jonas asked. Jax who nodded.

Abby raised her hand. "I have a question about vampires. So you can be a vampire if only one parent is a vampire? Chai said Eli David is human but Ziva's mother is a vampire."

Ducky said, "The offspring of a human-vampire union can be either human or vampire. He or she won't know until the other side emerges. If it's union of human and shifter then they will know when the offspring is in his 18th year and shifts; if it's between human and vampire, there's no telling. They don't suddenly develop fangs at 18, for example. Until now, no one knows what brings on the manifestation of the vampire in the offspring of a mixed marriage. We only know that the offspring of pure vampire unions are born vampires."

"What about the turning?" Abby asked. "It's a well-known "fact" that a vampire can turn its victim into a vampire. Is it true?"

"Yes, it is true," Ducky replied. "But only pure-bred vampires can turn someone, and there aren't that many around. Most vampires today are not pure-bred - that is, born vampires - but offspring of two converted vampires or a mixed union - vampire-shifter or vampire-human. A turned vampire can't convert anyone either."

"So if I were a purebred vampire," Tony said, "I could bite McGee here and turn him?" He waggled his brows at McGee who shrank back in his seat.

"Yes," Ducky replied. "But _he_ would not be able to turn someone because he's not pure-bred.

 "What about shifters mating with vampires?" Abby asked. "Is it common?"

"They are even rarer than shifters mating with humans," Ducky replied. "And even less acceptable."

"That's why the Nick-Arras cover will be credible," Chai said.

"Enough of that," Gibbs said to Abby, impatient to move on. "You and McGee can find out all about that later. What's next on our agenda?"

"Identifying the rogue shifter and vampire," Jonas replied. "Nick's and Arras' task will be to accomplish that while Theron's team investigates the killings."

"I'm going with Theron," Gibbs announced. "There was a fresh kill this morning. In Minnesota. I want to see the crime scene."

"No," Jonas said, earning a glare from Gibbs.

"What do you mean no?" Gibbs growled. "You agreed that we keep things as normal as possible, that we be pro-active rather than hiding me away."

 "We haven't gotten our security detail finalized," Jonas said. "We've only had 24 hours to get the task force assembled and we need time to finalize your protection plan."

"So? You come along," Gibbs said. "I'm not staying here while there's an investigation going on. _That's_ not normal."

"You're staying put, Alpha. _Sir_ ," Jonas insisted. Seeing the argument in Gibbs' eyes, he added. " _My_ op. _My_ rules."

 

\-------------

**TBC**

\-------------


	24. PART FOUR: REUNION - CHAPTER 24

PART FOUR - CHAPTER 24

**REUNION**

 

The moment the double doors to their suite closed behind them, Gibbs swung round and slammed Jonas against the wall. A startled Tony jumped on Gibbs to pull him away.

"Hey! Stop!" Tony yelled, his fingers gripping Gibbs' collar. Jonas wasn't fighting back but let Gibbs snarl in his face. If anything, he appeared amused. "Ignore him! He's nuts." Tony tried in vain to pull Gibbs away.

"The only reason why I let it go down there was because I didn't want to undermine your authority in front of everyone," Gibbs said, voice tight with anger. "But if you want to be a part of this task force, you remember who I am. I'm not one of your clients that you babysit to earn your keep. I'm your alpha. _More_ than that, which is what this is all about."

"Alpha Jethro -" Tony said, still trying to pull Gibbs off Jonas. He glowered at Jonas. "Mind helping? Or do you enjoy having him in your face?" He thought about that for a moment then muttered, "Never mind."

"Alpha Jethro. Sir. Listen -" Jonas placed his hands on Gibbs' shoulders but the older man didn't budge.

"No, _you_ listen, Raven. I'll go where _I_ want to go. _Your_ job is to follow me and keep an eye out for the assassin. You don't decide my schedule or my itinerary. You got that? _Both_ of you?"

Tony was now plastered against Gibbs' back, sandwiching Gibbs between Jonas and Tony, grasping Gibbs' upper arms to hold him back. Gibbs tried shrugging Tony away but the younger man's grip was like a band of steel around his biceps. He felt Tony's warm breath against his neck and gave an involuntary groan.

"Well, whaddya know?" Jonas rasped, a smile starting on his lips. "My alpha gets turned on playing rough." He pressed his hips forward, grinding against the unmistakable hard-on in Gibbs' pants.

"Oh, for -! Will you shut up?" Tony hissed angrily.

But Jonas' hands had moved up from Gibbs' shoulders, one palm cupping the back of his head and the other cupping his cheek.

"Alpha," Jonas whispered raggedly. "I was going to say give me one day to cover our security plan with my team then we head out to wherever you wish. I'm sorry it came out high-handed and disrespectful."

"Sounds reasonable, don't you think, Alpha?" Tony expelled a breath of relief and murmured against Gibbs' hair, "You just gotta get used to him. He likes playing dangerously."

Gibbs' cock was throbbing by then and if Raven couldn't feel it, the man was dead. His heart was thudding so loudly against his chest, it felt like it was going to burst out any moment. He could feel Tony's cock against his ass and instinctively moved to position it against his ass crack as if there were no clothes between them. Jonas was still grinding against him. Gibbs ground back.

"My alpha...mine," Jonas whispered, his voice now soft and pleading.

" _Our_ alpha," Tony amended, not feeling particularly fond of Jonas at the moment. Setting Jethro off on their first meet was not what he'd planned on.

Anger and lust collided inside Gibbs. He tried focusing on the former but his body was in charge, to his dismay. All he felt like doing was burying his cock inside Raven. _And_ Tony. He shook his head like a wet dog but his cock was throbbing with such an acute need now, all he wanted to do - could do - was tear Ravens' clothes off and fuck him through the wall. Both of them. Damn it to hell! Losing control was not something that sat well with him.

"Cat got ya tongue, Alpha?" Jonas teased breathlessly.

Tony closed his eyes briefly. "You got a death wish, Jonas?"

"We'll see who's speechless after I'm done with you," Gibbs said. He covered Jonas' groin with a hand, squeezing the erection under the khaki chinos.

Jonas' lips parted and a soft raspy groan escaped. "Try me," he challenged. "I can take whatever you've got." Before he could even finish the sentence, his shirt buttons went skittering across the timber floor. Gibbs ripped the thin cotton material off Jonasand his mouth latched on to a nipple, sucking hungrily as his fingers undid Jonas' belt and unzipped his pants. Jonas' hard cock sprang out, the precum already smearing the cockhead, leaving it shiny and slippery.

Gibbs moaned at the scent and dropped to his knees to take Jonas in his mouth.

"Tony. Lube," Jonas rasped.

"Right here," and Tony held up a packet. "On your knees, Raven. Hurry. I can't wait too long."

Jonas released himself from Gibbs' mouth and dropped to the floor but grasped Gibbs' cock instead of going on all fours. He swallowed Gibbs' cockhead, sucking noisily before releasing him. "Fuck me, Alpha Jethro. Please."

Gibbs dropped his jeans and Tony kicked it aside. Gibbs grasped Jonas' hips. He felt Tony's hand reach around to his cock, slathering it with lube then moving to Jonas to lube his hole. Tony was, Gibbs noted, already naked himself and his cock bobbed heavily as he prepped the three of them.

"I got him, Alpha," Tony said, grasping Jonas' shoulders. "You can go hard. He likes it hard."

Gibbs glanced up at that but decided to leave the obvious question for later. With one powerful thrust, he sank his cock into Jonas, feeling his balls slap against the younger man. Both of them gasped then Gibbs began to move.

 Jonas was half sobbing, half moaning in pleasure and pain as Gibbs' massive cock stretched him, the memory of it rushing back to Jonas and crashing over him like a giant tidal wave.

Jonas's shoulder slammed against Tony's hip with every thrust from Gibbs but Tony held him fast, plastering himself over Jonas' back and watching Gibbs' cock fucking Jonas' hole relentlessly. He could feel his own orgasm building and forced it down. He needed Gibbs in him when he came. In fact, he wanted Gibbs' cock in his ass before Gibbs came inside Jonas. At the rate Gibbs was going, there might be nothing left for Tony.

He moved back to whisper in Jonas' ear. "You close?" Jonas nodded. "Good. I'm going to try and get him inside me. He might come in me, though."

"Go ahead," Jonas whispered harshly. "This is just the first one."

Gibb wasn't paying them any attention, seemingly lost in his own world. He groaned and protested when Jonas slipped away from him, leaving his cock bereft. But Jonas' place was taken over by Tony, who was laying on his back, his legs folded back. Jonas lubed Tony's hole then spread his cheeks for Gibbs. Mindless with lust, Gibbs roared his way into Tony, pumping his hips furiously. Jonas grasped his own unsated cock and pumped his fist, keeping his eyes on Gibbs' cock as it thrust in and out of Tony.

Gibbs looked at Jonas as if apologizing but the latter leaned and kissed him. "Fuck him, Alpha," Jonas rasped, his fist still pumping away at his cock. "He needs you, too."

"You -"

"Later." Then Jonas made a gagging sound and said, "Coming. Ca-an't hold it."

"Come on him. I'm coming now," Gibbs said between clenched teeth. He gave a loud groan and emptied himself into Tony at the same time Jonas spilled himself over Tony's belly. Tony, not to be left out, was coming as well, his come spilling over his fingers as he grasped his cock.

"Let me taste you, Alpha. Please. Need that." Jonas begged.

Gibbs pulled out of Tony and went into Jonas' waiting mouth. Jonas licked Tony off Gibbs' still-hard cock.

"Let me finish in you, too," Gibbs said.

"Not mine to ‘let', Alpha. Yours to take anytime, anywhere," Jonas said, breathless with want. He laid down, legs splayed open to display himself. Tony lubed him up  again and Gibbs sank once more into Jonas.

He rode Jonas hard, the veins on his neck straining and beads of sweat clung precariously to the silver strands. He felt his climax gathering and his mouth gaped open.

 "Tony!" he whispered sharply. "Joe!" The jolt of clarity hit him. Not just clarity. Remembrance. Recognition. Reunion.

Then the world exploded in hot ecstasy.

o     o     o

 

The three men laid sated on the floor, having rolled over to the carpeted portion. Chests heaving, legs splayed and cocks laying thick but flaccid on their pelvises, they looked comatose.

Finally, Gibbs' eyes fluttered open. _Where was he? What happened? Who...!_ He bolted upright as his brain caught up. He scrubbed his face with one hand and blinked a few times, letting the reality sink in.

He felt...numb. Yet good. As if a heavy weight had dissipated from his chest. He felt better than he'd ever felt in his life.

The two men were on either side of him, both still dozing. He knew there were two security agents outside the suite and the rest spread out over the property. He looked at Tony and Jonas. Jonas? Did he just...did he just fuck his bodyguards? He grunted and took a deep breath as his senses normalized.

"Hey you guys. Wake up." He shook the men and they came awake instantly, shooting up to their feet.

"Are you alright, Alpha-One?" Raven asked. Tony went over to his side and the two men waited expectantly.

"Joe?" Gibbs asked as his brain cleared.

Raven nodded. "Yes, it's me."

"Tony?" Gibbs looked at Tony questioningly. " _My_ Tony?"

Tony smiled. "I like the sound of that." He paused, then added softly, "It's been a long time, Jethro."

And both men fell to their knees, faces to the floor. "Greetings, Alpha-Rex."

"Get up," Gibbs snapped. "None of that when we're alone. Sit down and we can talk. And that idea of yours about me staying put here? It's a _great_ idea. We have a lot of making up for lost time to do."

Tony and Jonas exchanged glances as they moved to the couch. Jonas sat next to Gibbs and Tony settling at Gibbs' feet. Jonas told Gibbs about shifting while the latter was out at sea and the subsequent years with the Oregon pack where his birth parents were from.

Tony told Gibbs about thinking Jethro had forgotten him and after he'd found out Jethro was a wolf shifter, assumed he'd been nothing but a casual encounter for the alpha. He spoke of the busy yet lonely years until Jonas came into his life; he spoke of his inner turmoil, loving Jethro as only a malawere could - with all his heart - yet unable to do anything about it.

"Is your name Joe or Jonas?" Gibbs asked, pulling him close.

"Jonas," he answered. "That's the name my birth parents registered me as. Joe was the name my foster parents called me."

"And I'm Jethro to both of you when we're alone," Gibbs said. "No ‘sir', no ‘Alpha'. Not even after I'm made alpha-rex. Got that?"

"Yes, Jethro." The two men acknowledged.

"But I like calling you 'alpha'," Jonas said. "You know...when I want you to fuck me."

"That's his inner sub talking," Tony quipped.

"I can make that an exception," Gibbs smiled. "Now, you can tell me how you know Jonas likes it hard," Gibbs said to Tony.

 

o     o     o

 

It was close to another hour before they could speak coherently again. As far as Gibbs knew, it would require a lifetime to make up for the lost years. There was still so much he wanted to know about the two men, so much they wanted to know about him. When this was over, he'd take them away somewhere private. Just the three of them.

"We've missed you, Jethro," Jonas said softly as he and Tony curled up against Gibbs.

Gibbs didn't respond. He couldn't honestly say he missed them, not in the way he now realized Tony and Jonas did. Not back then. But now, now was different. Now, he'd never be able to let them go but he didn't know how to explain this, how to express it.

"You don't have to say it back," Tony said, seeming to read Gibbs' thoughts. "Your entire life has been guarded and molded to prepare you for your destiny. We have to trust that Jonas and I, too, were being prepared to be your protectors, not just your life-mates."

"Yeah, if we'd been told everything, Tony and I would have been too distracted," Jonas added. "I had to be assimilated into shifter life and for someone not brought up in a shifter household, it's an enormous shift, pardon the pun. And I was just an ordinary shifter. Even now, I'm not an alpha. You're the man destined to be our king."

"Nothing ordinary about both of you if you were meant to be my life-mates," Gibbs said, speaking at last. He had a lot on his mind, the need for having kept Tony and Jonas from him for two decades was one he couldn't fully comprehend. "How did you end up working for Trent Kort?" he asked Tony.

"He had my dad set up a dinner date," Tony replied. I had been with the DSS for two years. Prior to that I was with the US Foreign Service for six years. Kort offered me a position on his team that handled special projects. These were mainly hostage situations that the government, both the US and the UK, did not want military intervention, if possible. As a malawere I was right for the job. I could usually negotiate our way out with minimal loss of life. Most times, not even a drop of blood was shed.

"Of course, there were times when more persuasive means was required and I was up to that as well. At other times, I'd call in the cavalry." He tilted his head at Jonas. "You know - those guys that handle the wet work."

"How did the two of you meet?" Gibbs asked. "You told me you'd been lovers for almost a decade. Did you meet on the job?"

Tony, with inserts by Jonas, related how Jonas came to the rescue in Tripoli and how they came to realize they had been in love with the same man since they were in their teens.

"And you?" Gibbs asked Jonas. "How did you hook up with Kort?"

"I was part of Theron's KnightShadows Inc," Jonas replied. "Kort asked for a long-term loan for his special division, Task Force 88, which comprises US special operations guys and the British SAS."

"How long were you with Kort?"

"Fifteen years," Jonas replied. "Until Operation Blood Moon commenced. Tony and I had already given notice and were serving it out when Kort called about Operation Blood Moon."

"He was expecting it," Tony said. "Our resignations. That's my feel." He nuzzled closer to Gibbs, murmuring, "I _love_ these cuddle times."

"He's part of the Joint Council," Jonas said. "So he knows everything."

Gibbs' furious expression told Tony and Jonas that some asses were going to be in the firing line. Tony burrowed deeper into Gibbs' neck, licking and sniffing.

He was just glad they weren't his and Jonas' asses about to be kicked. "Now that everything's out in the open, I'm sure you'll get an explanation," He murmured into Gibbs' neck

"I intend to," Gibbs growled, sitting up.

Looks like cuddle time's over, Tony thought, getting up himself. He wondered if they'd ever get a proper downtime together. At least just one day uninterrupted. He figured he wouldn't get his hopes up. Unifying the shifter-vampire-human world was bound to be another 24/7 job.

Gibbs asked himself which issue to tackle first as he headed for the bathroom - Tony and Jonas? Or the fact that he'd been kept out of the loop from Day One? He decided he'd get Tony and Jonas out the way. Then he'd order a Joint-Council meeting.

 

o     o     o

 

 "Thanks for coming up, Ducky," Gibbs said. "Coffee on the table, Mike."

"What can I do for you, Jethro?" Ducky asked. "The investigation team has arrived in Minneapolis, by the way," he said to Jonas. "The bodies are already on their way back.

Jonas checked his cell phone and sure enough, there was a missed call from Theron and a text message saying pretty much the same thing Ducky just told them.

"Ducky," Gibbs started. "How do wolf shifters recognize a life-mate?"

"In much the same way as humans," Ducky replied, looking Gibbs curiously. "With some cultural and chronological differences."

"Like what?"

"Well, we have physical attraction, chemistry...the same components that make up desire. Just as humans have. However, we differ in some aspects. For example, you could meet someone you're attracted to physically but have no intention of bonding with him so you keep the relationship casual. When I say ‘relationship' I mean the sexual one, of course. If, and when, you decide to bond with that partner, you both agree to commence the bonding ritual - the exclusive mating for a full lunar month, that is, twenty-nine days, with the mating occurring at least once every lunar day - twenty-four hours and fifty minutes. On the final day of the mating, the couple secretes the bonding pheromone which will bond them for life. That's about it. Why?"

"So there's no exceptional desire for someone that would tell me he's my life-mate?"

"If you mean whether there's some magic divining rod leading you to him, then no. In that respect, shifters are no different from humans. Or vampires."

"So the making of a life-mate is a deliberate decision, not a subconscious or an involuntary physiological one?" Gibbs asked.

"Not as far as I'm aware," Ducky replied. "Not for shifters but among certain vampire circles, there is a belief that the bonding attachment transcends the normal senses. That is, the vampires that have life bonds do sense the presence and existence of their life-mates. Since you are a shifter, that wouldn't apply. Why, might I ask, are you concerned about this?"

"Because DiNozzo and Raven are my life-mates," Gibbs replied.

"Whatthefuck!" Mike sputtered, choking on his coffee.

"And I want to know how that works," Gibbs said.

"Yeah, me too," Tony said.

"Same here," Jonas said. "There has got to be a reason why Tony and I hooked up with Alpha Jethro twenty years ago, just six months apart."

"Then for Jonas and I to meet and want to bond," Tony added.

"And have you two bonded?" Ducky asked as Mike looked on stupefied.

"We began our bonding ritual only last week," Jonas replied. "When Operation Blood Moon commenced. We figured we'd be together everyday for a month so we'd be able to complete the bonding ritual."

"So, what, exactly, is your concern, Alpha One?" Ducky asked, using Gibbs' informal title. "You want both of them," he said to Gibbs, who nodded. Mike's eyes went from Ducky to Gibbs then to Tony and Jonas as Ducky asked the two younger shifters. "And both of you want to bond with Alpha Jethro. Am I right? And I don't mean just because he's the incoming alpha-rex, but that you feel a desire to bond with him as you do with each other?"

"We do," Tony and Jonas replied in unison.

"I just wanted to confirm - if that's possible," Gibbs said, bringing Mike's eyes back to him again "- that Tony and Jonas are _meant_ to be my life-mates but that's not in our shifter lore. Our life-mate bondings are a conscious decision, as you said, and the bonding decision is not driven by a bonding pheromone but vice versa. So why am I feeling as if the three of us are meant to be bonded?"

Mike snorted then and said, "Hey, maybe you three aren't really shifters but vampires disguising as shifters." He chortled as if that were the funniest thing ever. Still laughing, he said, "Those bloodsuckers don't bond with anything. They're driven by pure lust. Nothing else."

"Yes, I can see why you'd be curious, if not puzzled," Ducky said, ignoring Mike. "I can only speculate here, I'm afraid. This is the first time I've come across this. It could be that it's different when an alpha-rex is involved. Let me consult the historical annals and get back to you on that."

"When?" Gibbs asked.

"I'd need to have permission from the Seer to do that. I'll let you know as soon as I can reach him. A few days, perhaps."

"This is is ridiculous," Gibbs snapped. "Tell him the prophesied alpha-rex wants his presence. You can co-ordinate the time and day." Gibbs turned and started walking out but Mike went after him.

"Hey, wait up." Mike caught up with Gibbs and clapped a hand on his shoulder. Noting Tony's sharp-eyed glare and growl at the move, Mike lifted his hand. "Down, boy."

"What, Mike?" Gibbs asked.

"Seriously?" Mike jerked his head at Tony and Jonas. " _Both_ of them?"

Instead of answering Mike, Gibbs spoke to Ducky. "Ducky, were you at the Joint Council meeting in Geneva last weekend?"

"Yes, I was," Ducky replied.

"When the details of Operation Blood Moon was discussed and decisions were confirmed? Decisions that involved me? My life?"

"Yes."

"Did it not occur to any of you that perhaps I ought to have been present?"

Ducky didn't reply immediately, wanting to find the right words.

"Never mind," Gibbs said abruptly. "I need you to do something for me."

"Of course, Alpha Jethro." 

"Call the Joint Council members and tell them your incoming alpha-rex request their presence at a meeting. Tomorrow. Pick a time."

Without a blink, Ducky said, "Yes, Alpha Jethro. I shall inform them immediately."

Gibbs turned to go then stopped and turned back. "Ducky. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have spoken so harshly to you."

Ducky smiled. "It's quite alright. In fact, it's heartening to see this side of you with regards to your future role. Very heartening, indeed.

 

\----------------

TBC

\----------------


	25. PART FOUR: REUNION - CHAPTER 25

 

PART FOUR - CHAPTER 25

**REUNION**

 

 

 

_**Next Day** _

The moment Gibbs set eyes on the Seer, his brows snapped together. This beach bum was the prophet who delivered messages concerning their destinies? It was September, not exactly the height of summer, but the guy was in his board shorts and lime-green singlet, his skin brown from the sun.

The Seer stepped forward once Gibbs had entered the conference room and went down on one knee, his head bowed. "Alpha-Rex Jethro, greetings."

Tony frowned slightly at the lack of formality in the Seer's greeting but decided if Jethro was fine with it, then it was okay.

"This meeting was for the joint council," Gibbs said to the Seer. "But I appreciate that everyone has had to adjust their schedules so I hope you don't mind sitting in."

"Not at all," the Seer said.

"I appreciate your coming at such short notice. All of you." Gibbs began, as the members of the Joint Council took their seats. Gibbs invited the Seer to sit on his right. "But I do not appreciate, or understand, why I was kept out of the loop. Before we begin, Raven and DiNozzo are here because they are my bodyguards and also my life-mates. I see from the lack of reaction that this doesn't come as a surprise. One more thing you all knew except me? But I'll let that go for now. Since you're bunch of know-it-alls, you'd know why I called this meeting. ‘Need-to-know' doesn't even cover it since Operation Blood Moon is, essentially, about _me._ But, I'm sure you have a reasonable explanation so..." he gestured with his hand. "Go ahead. Tell me why I was never told."

Ducky cleared his throat and said, "Since I'm the Deputy Alpha-One of NAFoS, it falls on me to give a defense of the decision the Joint-Council made. Bear with me, Alpha-One Jethro, as I recount how the Joint Council itself came about."

Gibbs inwardly groaned. Once Ducky got started, the ME forgot the time and while Gibbs was pissed enough to order the Joint Council's presence, he respected their own obligations and wanted this meeting over as quickly as possible.

"As you know, there have been mysterious shifter deaths over the last two years. These started escalating and when vampire deaths started, Ms Porter and Count Mordran initiated discussions with Trent Kort and myself. But years prior to these killings, Ms Porter, the Count and Anthony DiNozzo Senior, had begun discussions on bringing the shifter, vampire, and human worlds together; to forge a new understanding, a new world where we could live peacefully with one another.

"Under the auspices of Anthony DiNozzo, we were able to start experimental ventures where the three groups operated businesses that depended on each other in their processes. They had a client-supplier relationship amongst each other and we'd monitor how they interacted.

 We studied them to identify potential problem areas other than the ones we are already aware of. We also began social clubs where shifters and vampires could meet. All on a very small, private scale, of course, and candidates were carefully selected.

"All was going well until the killings started. Then we reverted to our old suspicions. Shifters started suspecting vampires of the murders and vice versa. Then the rumors surfaced about there being a gang of rebel shifters joining vampires to bring about chaos, with the goal of installing a duo of leaders over the shifters and vampires and enslaving the humans.

"The first Joint Council was held six months ago, before the murders escalated, so the agenda was focused on how best to bring the three groups together. That was when Tony DiNozzo, Anthony's son, was nominated as liaison officer between the two parties and, hopefully, extend a hand of friendship to the humans as well. We were in the process of finding a suitable human to represent that third group. In the meantime, we had set up the task force facility for the investigations into the killings.

"When news of a plot to kill you came to our notice, an emergency meeting was held last weekend in Geneva, resulting in Operation Blood Moon. That concludes the first part of our explanation. Count Mordran has kindly undertaken the task of explaining the second reason that led to our decision to keep you in the dark." Ducky turned to the Count.

"Alpha-One Jethro, my wife, Jenny Shepard, sends you greetings and hopes that we will see you at our wedding anniversary celebration in December," the Count said.

Gibbs nodded. "Return my regards to Jenny and tell her I will be delighted to see her again."

"Alpha-Jethro," the Count began. "It is no secret that you have a distaste for any position that requires you to observe diplomacy even in the most difficult of situations.You turned down the offer of Director of NCIS which was then given to Leon Vance. In fact, Ms Porter has informed me that you were in line for the Secretary of the US Navy following Clayton Jarvis' death and it went to Ms Porter instead, when the President was reminded of your preference for field work over politics and meetings.

"When the Alpha-Ones of the shifters - Alpha Ducky, Alpha Trent and Alpha Lance, who is not on the Joint Council, were told the prophecy of a coming shifter king, they were elated. Until they heard the identity of that king. Yes, you. They knew that you'd not only balk at the prospect, you'd reject it."

Gibbs grunted. "If it's prophesied, it would happen no matter what my reaction is, wouldn't it?" he asked, once again growing impatient with the long-winded explanations.

"Yes, of course, it would," Count Mordran said. "But your fellow alphas did not relish the prospect of dealing with your negative reaction to the news. It appears you have a reputation for being rather intransigent when you don't want something. Because of the nature of the work cut out for the future alpha-rex, we could not have a reluctant alpha-rex. You will not just be king of the shifters. You will be a king of the vampires. That has never happened and when it is announced that a shifter is going to be king over the vampires, we know it's going to be a hard sell, if not an impossible one. The last thing we need is a man who would be king but doesn't want to be. In fact, at this point we still don't know what to do with you." The Count expelled a small breath. "But there is another related reason for not telling you you are the prophesied alpha-rex but it's something your father should explain to you."

"My father?" Gibb said, puzzled. Tony glanced at Jonas. Both men had taken up position behind Gibbs and had listened intently but impassively, their attention automatically trained on the room in general. They may be in a meeting room in the task force facility but being Gibbs' close protection officers, they wouldn't let down their guard as long as other people were present or they were not in their super-secure private quarters.

All eyes followed Count Mordran as he went to the door and opened it. Jackson Gibbs entered.

"Dad!" Gibbs shot up from his seat.

"Good morning, Alpha Leroy," Jackson said, taking the seat next to Gibbs which Ducky vacated for him. Gibbs might be Jackson's son but he was still alpha of their pack and as such, Jackson had to observe some formality, especially in the presence of a council.

"I'll come to the point, Alpha-One," Jackson said. "Your mother was eighteen when she gave birth to you. You were six months old when she shifted on the last day of her 18th year." Jackson's voice was soft. Sad. "Your mother hated being a shifter. She considered it abnormal. She cut herself off from the pack and refused to talk about shifter life. She hid this from me when we were dating and I thought it was just her being very private and not talking much about her family.

"After she gave birth to you, she fell into a depression that got worse by the month. She told me she couldn't bear the thought that her baby would grow up to be a shifter and said she hoped she'd escaped the curse somehow. Since she still hadn't shifted after you were born, she hoped that somehow she would escape shifting. It was then she told me her father was human, not a wolf shifter like her mother. So there was a chance she would take after her father.

"When she shifted on the last day of her 18th year, she went berserk. She screamed the house down, running in circles and crashing herself into the walls. I had to restrain her, trying to calm her down because you were crying from fear. She finally calmed down but cried practically non-stop. About two weeks later, she ran away in the middle of the night. She had taken to sleeping in the other room with you and I'd usually look in on you both before going to sleep. Both of you were sleeping soundly so I went to bed. The next morning I was woken up by your incessant crying. That was odd because you weren't much of a crier. When I went to check, your mom was gone. I carried you and we looked through the house but she wasn't there.

"I found a note in your cot later. It said she was sorry but she couldn't bear the thought of seeing you become a shifter either. She asked me to let her go in peace and she knew you'd be cared for so she wouldn't have to worry about that." Jackson sighed heavily. "Did I try to find her? Of course I did. I knew she was depressed and not thinking straight or she wouldn't have run away, leaving you. So I went to see Alpha Ducky straightaway. He sent out a search party and put out the word but nothing came back. No reports of any accidents, nothing. I've not seen your mother since." Jackson swallowed before continuing. "It was I who persuaded the shifter council not to tell you about the contract put out on you. I was afraid that you'd give up your right to the throne as you'd never hidden your feelings about being king of the shifters eversince you were told. We all knew you didn't want to be king and after what happened with your mother, we were afraid you'd react similarly, especially when you realize all those shifter deaths was because of you." Jackson paused again. "Yes, Alpha-One," he said solemnly, seeing the question in Gibbs' eyes. "The shifters were killed because they refused to divulge the identity of their coming alpha-rex. The terrible pity of it is that they didn't know.  Their killers believed they knew and tortured them, finally killing them. Investigations began, of course, and the council tightened up on security, ensuring that anyone associated with you knew nothing about you. Until Operation Blood Moon commenced, only a handful of us knew the prophesied alpha-rex was you."

"Is that why Tony and Jonas were forbidden from contacting me all those years?" Gibbs asked.

"Yes, Alpha-One," Jackson replied. "We were afraid because once you had shifted - the three of you - if you had sex, you'd know you were all shifters and if you completed the bonding ritual, whether intentionally or not, you'd be bonded. At first, it was just so that you wouldn't have an excuse to reject your kingship. We knew you'd think you wouldn't be able to live a regular life with your mates if you were king and that would only increase your ambivalence. You'd be torn between duty and love. Then later, when the rogue weres appeared, we wanted to minimize your vulnerable spots. If you had bonded with Jonas and Tony and they became a target for the rogue weres, you would go berserk as your mother did. Well, that was what I was afraid of. Alpha Trent disagreed but went along with the decision to opt for secrecy.

"Following the second Joint Council meeting, he persuaded us that ending the secrecy was the right thing to do and that you'd handle your obligations better with your life-mates by your side. That's why Ms Porter read you in as soon as she returned from Geneva." Jackson paused, letting his son digest what he'd just been told.

The silence that followed was thick with tension. Tony and Jonas stared straight ahead, not moving a muscle but a zillion thoughts going through their heads.

"You still don't know where my mother is? Whether she's alive or dead?" Gibbs asked, breaking the silence.

"I'm afraid we don't," Jackson replied. "If she died, there's no notice of it. If she's alive, then she doesn't want to get in touch with us. I accepted that a long time ago. We were married less than two years when she left and we dated only a couple of months before we married. It's been fifty years since then. She will aways be your mother...but she's a stranger to me.

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry about keeping all this a secret. Maybe I should have told you about your mother, should have told you about the prophecy...I guess I just wasn't thinking straight myself. I'm sorry, son."

Gibbs eyes filled as he hugged his father. "It's okay, Dad. Knowing how I like to keep things close to my chest, I would have done the same thing. But you hear me, now - I don't have reservations about being this - this alpha-rex. Hell, Dad. I'm the leader of NCIS' MCRT. It may not make me king of the heap, but it counts for something with me. I _like_ being in charge. And I'll like being king as long as I don't have to attend dinners and cocktails and unending meetings. I'll _like_ being king because, you know what -" he looked up at the rest. "- I'll be out there in the field with my men. And women. From now on, I want to be kept informed. This meeting is over. Thank you all." He turned to the Seer. "I wanted to ask you about Tony and Jonas. And to meet you."

"It's an honor to meet you, Alpha-Rex Jethro. What did you want to know about Tony and Jonas?"

"As you know, shifters do not bond the way some of the human fiction portrays us. We choose our life-mates then we bond." The Seer nodded as Gibbs spoke. "So why is it that I feel it so strongly that Tony and Jonas are my life-mates? We haven't completed the bonding cycle yet."

"Because you are not just an ordinary shifter," the Seer replied. "Your recognizing your life-mates is just one more mark of your being the prophesied alpha-rex. You are the only shifter able to do that. The closer you get to the Blood Moon, the stronger these feelings will get, as well as other signs related to your change."

"What change?"

"Becoming the alpha-rex, of course."

"You say it as if there's a visible, physical change."

The Seer said nothing to that. "Let it suffice that Tony and Jonas are, indeed, your destined life-mates. You heard an explanation from the joint council. They aren't to be blamed for keeping you in the dark. They don't know much more than you did and they were instructed not to get ahead of things but to let it all play out, each in its own time. May I take your leave, Alpha-Rex Jethro? There's a wave in Hawaii calling out to me."

 

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TBC

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	26. PART FOUR: REUNION - CHAPTER 26

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** _This will be the last posting until I finish the story. I am only three chapters ahead and there's a major scene involving Gibbs' mother I need to think about carefully before I insert it. We are close to the finale and I only have the final scene to write. Anne Gibbs' arc was written before I started on this story so I only need to tweak it and figure out how to fit it in. Please bear with the suspension but I will understand your impatience! It's why I NEVER read WIPs._

 

 

PART FOUR - CHAPTER 26

**REUNION**

 

 

"Where are you?" It was Mike on the phone.

"Just leaving the conference room," Gibbs replied. "I need to talk to you. Come on up."

"I think you'll want to come down here instead. I'm in autopsy. More victims."

"Be right there."

Gibbs rang off and the three men made their way down to autopsy.

Ducky was examining a cadaver - or what was left of it. He didn't look up when Gibbs strode in.

"These arrived an hour ago from Minnesota," Mike said.

"Ahh, Alpha Jethro." Ducky looked up, back in ME mode. "These three victims were from the same area in the Blue Earth County, Minnesota. This one," he nodded at the cadaver in front of them, "is Sheriff John Peterson. That one," he nodded to the body on the next table. "Is Detective Sean Barkam with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and the third victim is Detective Carly Maynard, Barkam's partner."

"As you can imagine," Ducky said. "There's an awful lot of attention focused on these killings but Fornell is heading the investigation. Which means the FBI are getting a little too interested. You might consider reading Fornell in because it was a bit of a tussle getting these bodies off him. We had to call for intervention from someone higher up the FBI foodchain. Now that the FBI's getting curious, we're going to need more non-shifter allies if they happen to be involved in an investigation, as they surely will if we don't stop more shifter killings."

"You sure?" Mike asked. "I don't think Fornell's going to take the whole shifter thing well. If he even believes us."

"He'll believe Jethro," Ducky said.

"Fornell. I've met him," Tony said. "Hey, I've got an idea. We'll let _McGee_ explain the whole shifter-vampire thing to him. And I volunteer to be there to make sure he gets it right.

Gibbs moved to Tony to give him a headslap then thought the better of it. "Can you keep him under control?" Gibbs asked Jonas. "If you can't, assign him to perimeter duty."

"He can't do that," Tony said. " _I_ 'm in charge of security and _I_ do the assigning."

Gibbs ignored him and said to Ducky and Mike, "I'll meet Fornell and read him in. Has Theron left?"

"Just," Mike said.

"Are we done here?" Tony asked. "If we are, we can head to the Control Room and start planning the security detail."

"Any injuries inconsistent with what we're looking for?" Gibbs asked Ducky.

"No, all three victims are displaying the same type injuries, but not necessarily by the same attackers. Abby's working on isolating possible traces of DNA left behind by the perps. She'll, no doubt, call you if she has something."

 

o     o     o

 

The Control Room was crowded with over a dozen personnel busy at their computers. On the wall, a large screen was showing a map of the US with colored dots over all the states.

"What are they doing?" Gibbs asked.

"Locating every shifter in the US," Jonas replied. "Each blue dot represents a wolf shifter, the pink are the canidae, minus the wolves, the -"

"Pink! Why am I pink?" Tony asked.

"The green dots are the feline shifters," Jonas carried on. "The purple dots are avian shifters and the black are miscellaneous - reptiles, bats, and fish."

"Fish?" A voice asked.

"Hey. Timothy McGee." Tony flashed him a grin. "And yes, there are fish shifters, and likely the source of those mermaid legends. I have shifter friends who are dolphins - and yes, I know dolphins are mammals, not fish."

"How you doing, McGee?" Gibbs asked.

"Okay. Considering. I'm monitoring the movements of the shifter groups and marking down the residences of the victims. So far, there have been twenty-three shifter deaths, including the three that arrived this morning. And this is just for the US. There are dozens more deaths in Europe and Asia." McGee paused. "I can't believe I'm doing this. Abby's in seventh heaven but I...I'm still processing it, Gibbs."

"Would you rather go back to NCIS?" Gibbs asked. "We have enough personnel here and I'm sure Bishop will be happy to have you back."

"No. No, I'll stay," McGee said. "I'll be fine. Just need a couple more days to get used to this."

"Alpha Jethro," someone called out. "Call for you."

Gibbs took the phone. "Yeah, Gibbs."

"It's Jax. Arras is on board."

"Good. I'll meet you at the crime scene this evening. Tony will co-ordinate it with you. Give him your number." He handed the phone to Tony then turned to Jonas. "You and Tony go ahead with the security meeting. I want to go over the reports of the previous kills." Jonas turned to go but Gibbs grabbed his arm. "I want us back upstairs in two hours max. And that's an order."

Jonas smiled and gave a quick nod before walking off.

"What's happening upstairs?" Mike asked.

"You don't wanna know."

Mike's gaze zeroed in on Jonas' hand which was resting on the small of Tony's back before it slid over Tony's ass while his other hand casually gestured to the screen while they carried on their discussion.

"Did you see that?" Mike asked.

"See what?"

"Jonas Raven just palmed DiNozzo's ass."

Gibbs looked blandly at Mike.

"I swear. I saw it. I -" Mike stopped abruptly. "Fuckin' hell. They do each other, too?"

 

o     o     o

 

Gibbs gave them one hour and forty minutes before he broke up the meeting.

"Jonas, Tony. Upstairs. Now!"

The rest of the security team looked round in surprise and got to their feet instantly, thinking something had happened.

"Stand down," Jonas said to the team as Tony immediately went to Gibbs' side. "It's okay. We're done here, anyway."

"Everything alright?" Tony asked quietly.

"It will be when you and Jonas get your asses upstairs."

"Going," Tony replied. "I have um, a request," he whispered.

"What?" Gibbs growled, impatient. To Jonas he barked, "Don't keep your alpha-rex waiting."

"Could we take it a little slower this time?" Tony asked. "We don't have plans to go anywhere today, do we?"

"I don't have anything scheduled for us," Jonas answered, bringing a glare from Gibbs.

"I told you -" Gibbs said, jabbing a finger at Jonas' chest. "You're not in charge of my schedule. You don't get to boss me around. Cut it out or I'll fire your insubordinate ass!"

"Yes sir," Jonas responded. "Warning received loud and clear." He turned to the audience who had been following the conversation. "Alpha Dwayne is in charge. Tony and I will be with Alpha Jethro and are not to be disturbed."

The entire room stood and saluted. "Yes, sir!" They said in unison. Everyone was grinning.

"Where are you guys going?" Mike asked. Gibbs didn't reply. "Hey!" Mike yelled as the door shut behind Gibbs, Tony and Jonas. He turned back to the room. " We got more dead bodies and one of them better not be Alpha-Jethro's so wipe those grins off your ugly mugs and get back to your posts."  


o     o     o

Back in their suite, the Gibbs that had barked at them earlier had given way to a different man; a gentler but no less ravenous man; a man reining in his lust because this time, he wanted to savor them to the max.

He looked down at the two naked men, stretched out on the king-size bed, their muscled, bronzed bodies a beautiful contrast against the brilliant white sheets. Their erect cocks jutted up proudly, both thick and long, Jonas with a curve and Tony's with a large cockhead. He wondered how Jonas took _that_ up his ass.

Both men looked up at him, anticipation in their open gazes. Tony's arm was curled over Jonas' waist as he nuzzled Jonas' neck, his eyes never leaving Gibbs'.

"Slow and easy this time, huh?" Gibbs said.

"Slow, but not necessarily easy," Jonas shot back. "Make me work it hard."

"Bossy even in bed," Gibbs muttered. "And you're not even an alpha."

He positioned himself between Jonas' legs, pushing them up and kissing the inside of a thigh. Not so much a kiss as sliding his mouth against skin.

"Show yourself," Gibbs ordered and sat back. Tony scooted down to Jonas' hips as the latter spread his ass cheeks. Gibbs plastered his nose against the puckered entrance and breathed in sharply before laving it with his tongue. Like all canid shifters, taste and smell were an important component in their love-making as well as social contact. In erotic contact, their arousal heightened their olfactory and gustatory senses.

Gibbs laved Jonas' hole, piercing through with his tongue, alternatively sucking and licking.

Tony watched and whimpered. Or was it a whine? Gibbs couldn't tell from the lust that was throbbing in his entire body and demanded every bit of control not to thrust himself into Jonas.

Tony whimpered again and Gibbs pulled him in for a kiss. "Wait."

Tony sat back on his haunches then decided he had to do _some_ thing or implode. "May I suck him?"

"Yes." The reply was terse but more than enough for Tony to take Jonas' cock into his mouth.

Gibbs continued to tongue-fuck Jonas as the latter made raspy groans, as if unable to handle the dual sensation of having his cock sucked and his asshole skewered by a hot, wet tongue which had a life all of its own the way it was moving around in his channel. He made a frustrated sound when Gibbs stopped and turned his attention to Tony who was deepthroating Jonas.

All Gibbs did was place his palm on Tony's cheek and Tony lifted his eyes to Gibbs, releasing Jonas.

Another loud moan of frustration emanated from Jonas. "No-ooh! Don't stop now."

But Gibbs was kissing Tony, pulling him close and devouring him. Jonas, not to be left out, scrambled up to his knees and embraced the two men around their necks. They turned their kisses to Jonas and he gave a moan of pleasure this time. Alternating between Gibbs' and Tony's mouths, Jonas poured out his yearning for his Alpha-Rex and Tony even as Tony gave in to his own love and longing for the two men. Their cocks slid against each other until Gibbs, unable to hold off any longer, ordered Tony to get on his hands and knees. Jonas grabbed the tube of lube and prepared their mate.

When Gibbs' cock slid into Tony, there was a collective gasp - Gibbs, from the indescribable ecstasy of being sheathed inside his life-mate, Tony as the hollowness in him was filled in every way he needed; and Jonas, who knew that his Home was finally complete. Gibbs climaxed quickly, pouring so much cum into Tony that it dribbled out when he pulled out. Without a word, he reached for Jonas, find him already spread and ready.

He fucked both men relentlessly, mouths sucking on flesh painfully as their took out their desire on each other. Gibbs had never felt the kind of emotion that filled him as he watched Jonas enter Tony and piston his hips, fucking Tony as the latter howled in pleasure. He kissed Tony deeply as he cradled Tony's head in his lap.

"I've missed you, Tony," Gibbs whispered.

Tony couldn't reply, his mouth gaping open in soundless pleasure.

An eternity later, or what seemed like it, the three men lay side by side, utterly spent. Tony had spread some beach towels over the wet spots and then collapsed. Jonas could have slept all night on the wet spot but Tony was a malawere so...

"Pussy," Jonas said, his voice languid and breathless at the same time. His chest was heaving and the throb in his ass hadn't subsided. It wasn't easy accommodating both Jethro and Tony but they knew it was something that needed to be done. Both he and Tony were now filled with Jethro's cum as well as each other's.

One month of regular, daily sex and their bond would be for a lifetime.

They lay in post-coital bliss in each other's arms, limbs curled round each other in every which way. The nuzzling and kisses eventually gave way to soft snores and when they moved, it was only to cuddle up tighter.

"Jethro?" Tony murmured sometime later.

"Mmm?" Gibbs tightened his hold and nuzzled deeper into the crook of Tony's neck. Behind him, Jonas stirred, his warm breath fanning the back of the neck.

"Did you think of me at all these twenty years?" Tony asked.

Gibbs' eyes opened. There was a half snort, half snigger from Jonas. Looked like the afternoon nap was over.

"You're such a girl," Jonas said, stretching his long limbs.

"I never forgot you, Tony," Gibbs said, sitting up and propping his foreams on his knees. "But I wasn't in a place where I could have a relationship. No," he ran a hand through his sleep-mussed hair. "That's not accurate. I wasn't looking for a relationship."

"Why?" Tony asked. "Were you coming out from a bad one?"

"No," Gibbs replied. 

Tony sat up as well and hugged Gibbs. "I need to hold you. Just a bit more, okay? It's been too long without you." Beside them, Jonas watched silently.

Gibbs stroked Tony's hair, kissing him tenderly. "I didn't think much of our encounter, to be honest, but I didn't forget it. I just thought it was you and me getting together for a fuck."

"Oh." Tony looked disappointed.

"Hey," Jonas took Tony's arm and drew Tony in for a hug. "At least you weren't a rentboy like me. I was street trash. I couldn't hope for more."

"Boys, listen." Gibbs pulled both men to him. "Hell, I need coffee."

Tony lifted a finger. "Coffee coming up." He called Zolar and made the request.

"I'm not saying you meant nothing to me, okay?" Gibbs said.

"Jethro, I'm asking only because I'm curious," Tony said.

"And because neither of us forgot our time with you," Jonas added. "Tony may have spent only three weeks with you while I lived with you for four years, but in terms of our emotional bonding with you, there was no difference. We both fell for you deeply and totally."

"Even though he's a wolf shifter," Tony cocked his head towards Jonas. "And I'm a malawere, we both found our way to each other."

"You should have been there when we discovered we were in love with the same man!" Tony chuckled. They related their conversation that day, as well as what they'd found out from Kort.

"I had a lot on my mind," Gibbs said. "This alpha-rex business...I'm still trying to get my head around it.

"And us?" Tony asked.

"Where do we stand?" Jonas asked.

Gibbs laughed softly. "Not going to be much standing, boys. If I have my way - and no reason why I can't since I'm the king - you'll be either on your backs or your hands and knees most of the time." He leaned in to kiss Jonas. "As to your question. Where do you stand?" He blew out a breath. "We're both wolf shifters and you know how we differ from malaweres." He saw Tony deflating and gave an exasperated sigh. Pulling Tony in, he imprisoned him in a hard embrace, saying, "Listen Tony. I'm not like other wolf shifters and apart from Jonas, I won't be taking any other life-mates. I don't want anyone else, for life or for a night. You got that?"

"Even though we haven't fulfilled the required lunar month?" Jonas asked.

"That's right," Gibbs replied. "I don't need to have sex with you every day for a full lunar month in order to bond with you."

"Why not?" Both Tony and Jonas asked in unison.

"I don't know!" Gibbs replied. "I just feel it in my gut. I know shifters need the one month in order to bond but I told you, I'm not like normal shifters. And don't ask me how I know that. I just know."

The doorbell chimed and Tony let Zolar in.

"Coffee and sandwiches, Masta Tony, Masta Jonas." Zolar turned to leave as Gibbs came out of the bedroom. Zolar fell prostrate on the floor before the startled Gibbs and performed the grand kowtow of three kneelings with three kowtows each.

"What the fuck?" Jonas sputtered, laughing as he saw Gibbs' face.

Tony sighed loudly. "Zolar, stop it or you're fired."

"Your Royal Highness, Alpha-Rex Leroy Jethro Gibbs," Zolar intoned. "I beg your permission to depart."

"Permission granted," Gibbs responded.

"That man is incorrigible," Tony muttered. "Please don't encourage him," he said to Gibbs.

"You know the more annoyed you get, the more he'll do it, don't you?" Gibbs pointed out. "Ignore him and he'll stop."

"Reminds me of someone we know," Jonas quipped. He looked at Gibbs and saw the troubled expression. "What's wrong, Jethro?"

Tony immediately asked, "What's on your mind?"

"My mother."

"What about her?" Tony asked.

"There's more to it, I can feel it. She wouldn't have kept away for fifty years. Wolf shifters just don't do that. As a malawere you ought to understand that."

"Ask your father," Jonas suggested. "He didn't say much at this morning's meeting apart from your mother not accepting she was a shifter but that could be because there were too many people present. Talk to him privately."

Gibbs was silent for a moment then said, "Looks like I'll have to."

 

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TBR

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	27. PART FOUR: REUNION - CHAPTER 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter should be okay to post but if I do need to come back and tweak something I'll post a comment.

 

PART FOUR - CHAPTER 27

**REUNION**

 

 

_**Meanwhile, somewhere else in DC** _

 

"I went to his house but he wasn't in," Allison Hart said, as she nibbled on Ari Haswari's ear. "And yes, I waited. Until past midnight."

"Did you try his workplace?" Ari asked, stroking Allison's bare back.

"Are you questioning my intelligence?"

"I would not be so stupid, love." Ari kissed her. "Gibbs has a habit of working late hours, that's all I'm saying."

Allison rose from the bed. "It's such a pity finding out about Gibbs so late. If you'd told me earlier, I could have taken care of him while I had the chance."

"My dear, if _you_ 'd told me about the prophecy earlier, you wouldn't be pouting like this," Ari pointed out. "As it is, be grateful I even managed to get this useful little bit of information. I did tell you that I'm supposed to be dead so I can't very well go about questioning people."

"Then you can't be all that effective, can you? Which is why I want you to just find him, tail him and report in. Leave the rest to me." Allison paused then added, "How did you find out about Jethro being a prophesied king, anyway? You never told me."

"And you never asked. But, in the interest of full disclosure, let's say that in my other form, I chanced upon an interesting conversation between two magpies."

"Magpies? You're joking," Allison said. "You shifters are beyond me. You do nothing but gossip like old ladies at the hair salon."

"We prefer to call ourselves sociable - something vampires could take lessons on."

Allison waved her hand impatiently. "Enough. Go on."

"The two old birdies were talking about their prophesied king. An alpha-rex. That he would come from the wolf packs. A giant white wolf and that he was currently working in NCIS, a man known as the Silver Fox. Doesn't take a genius to know who that is."

Allison gave him a pointed look. "Obviously not."

"Tsk. Tsk. Bitchiness doesn't become you, M. Allison Hart," Ari said. "And if I had not related this critical bit of info, where would you be? So, how did _you_ find out about this Blood Moon prophecy?" It did miff Ari that he straddled that grey area - not accepted by the vampires yet not fully part of the shifters either.

"Uh-uh. _My_ secrets remain secrets," Allison said, seemingly unaware of Ari's thoughts. "Let it suffice that it's vital Gibbs is dead before the eclipse commences. Once it begins, his strength increases. If he survives past it, we're all dead. And I mean _me_ included, not just you."

Ari considered that and silently acknowledged Allison's warning. If Gibbs could kill Allison, a full vampire, he would have to be exceptional. Vampires were so hard to kill the belief that they were immortal persisted through the ages. It wasn't true, of course. Vampires could be killed permanently. They just needed to be beheaded or shot through the heart _and only during a total eclipse._ "You're sure we have to get Gibbs before September 27?" he asked.

"Before the eclipse even begins at 10.11pm," Allison replied. "It will be near impossible to kill him once the eclipse begins. Why? Are you having second thoughts?"

"No," Ari replied. "Just wondering how genuine _you_ are."

"Darling," Allison crossed the room to the bathroom. "I told you - you and I are one. I wouldn't be able to do this without you. I don't _want_ to do this without you."

"As long as you don't forget I want this as badly as you, if not more. Leroy Jethro Gibbs will never be king of the shifters if I can help it."

"Then we need to step up on the attacks. Time is running out. We have followers but not enough. They are untrained in the kind of work we want them to do. We need to flush Gibbs out, lure him somewhere he will be vulnerable. _And_ find someone capable of defeating him."

"I'm sure we can find one who is trained and willing. There are thousands of shifters in law enforcement and the military and not all of enamored of the thought of having a king over them."

"But none willing to go against Jethro Gibbs, not when he's the _prophesied_ alpha-rex. They believe their family line will be cursed for generations if they are defeated."

"Unless we - the victors - convince them otherwise," Ari said, getting up and following his lover into the bathroom. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her hungrily. The sex that followed was fierce and rabid, leaving them both satisfied and breathless.

o     o     o

 

"How did your meeting go?" Isaak Sidorov asked Allison that night.

"As well as I expected," Allison replied. "He will play his part, don't worry. He wants Gibbs dead as much as he wants me - alive and as his consort."

"And you? Won't you find me a little too old after Ari Haswari's company? He's ten years younger than me." Isaak's teasing tone made it obvious he was teasing.

"He's also a bat," Allison sneered. "You really think I would take a _bat_ as my consort?" she laughed throatily then dismissed the whole idea.

"A _vampire_ bat, Allison," Isaak persisted. "I know they are generally despised but I advise you not to underestimate him. Ari's selling point will be that as a vampire bat shifter, he encompasses both worlds. If the vampires and shifters want a symbiotic mutualistic relationship, what could be better than Ari Haswari as king over both worlds?

"What could be better?" Allison repeated. "Leroy Jethro Gibbs, apparently."

"What can _he_ bring to the table?" Isaak scoffed. "His silver hair? It's probably a toupée."

Allison laughed. "Silly. Shifters don't bald. Anyway, you're right in that vampires will not accept a king over us. We did in the distant past, since our noble titles still exist, but to have one vampire ruling over all? It will never happen. And definitely not a vampire _bat_." She spat out the last word.

"My point is that Haswari may get it into his head to try. That's an additional headache I do not want.

"Ari will monitor Gibbs. That's all he's contracted to do. How I got him to take the job is insignificant."

"Alright. What's next, then? So far all the killings and unrest have failed to draw Jethro out. It's obvious he's gone into hiding and under heavy guard."

"We set up an attack that's guaranteed to draw him out. I know Jethro well enough. The man will not allow himself to hide while shifters are being killed. Not this time. He will come, then Ari will keep tabs on him."

"You plan on attacking him then?"

"I thought of it, but I doubt it will work. His security team will be on high alert if they even agree to let him out of wherever he is hiding. No, my plan is first to draw him out, tail him and find out where his safe house is then plan an attack. It will require careful planning so we need to study him and case the safe house."

"Let's hope it works. Time is running out. The DC attacks did not bring him around nor the one in Minnesota."

"That's because the damned fools didn't kill the right shifters," Allison snapped. "They were ordered to kill Navy personnel but they merely targeted law enforcement officials. Idiots. Good help is impossible to find these days."

Allison continued to seethe. She couldn't get over the fact that they'd discovered what Jethro was only _after_ he dumped her. It smarted that he could even do such a thing. Jethro was fantastic fuck even though, at the time, she didn't know he was a shifter just as he, even now, did not know she was a vampire. Unlike shifters, a vampire couldn't detect another even during sex, much less a shifter. Shifters, she knew, couldn't detect another shifter _except_ during the sex act when they secreted a special pheromone. Vampires had no such thing.

Isaak Sidorov, though, had caught her eye. He was not only rich, he was immensely good-looking. More so than Jethro who was considered a looker even at his age. She'd heard he had no sexual preferences, gender-wise, and his sexual appetite was huge even by shifter standards. As always, Allison believed she could manipulate Jethro via his cock. It stung that she failed. She would not this time. This time she had Isaak to use.

She had met Sidorov at a private function in LA. He was on the run from NCIS Special Agent Callen, who was a member of the Office of Special Projects in Los Angeles, and she'd offered to hide Sidorov while he re-organized his operations.

In Isaak, she'd found someone who not only desired her but wanted a permanent liaison, something other men did not. That really ate at her - that she was considered a good fuck and nothing else. She, on the other hand, considered herself a damned good defense lawyer yet her firm had yet to recognize that. As for Jethro, he was just something to pass the time with. The man was a government servant and had reached as far as he could go. Not that she ever contemplated anything permanent with the lowly NCIS special agent. Of course that was before she learnt what was in store for him. Once he was king, he'd no longer be anyone's servant. He'd be king and she'd be queen. Granted, it would be over the shifters and not the vampires, but still - the power! The prestige!

Then the man had the gall to dump her! Without so much as an explanation. Just locked his door! Pig. Not that it stopped her, of course, but she'd allowed him to think she picked his lock. Picked. His. Lock. Like some petty burglar.

Well, Leroy Jethro Gibbs would soon learn what Margaret Allison Hart was made of. The time would come when those uncouth peasants would bow to her. And she intended to make Jethro grovel the most.

But first, she needed to find the damned man. It would look stupid making threats when they couldn't even find him.

Vampires did not believe in prophecies but Allison was adaptable if nothing else. As a wolf shifter, Isaak believed in them and she pretended to be awed when he told her about the prophecy and Jethro. It was a stroke of luck that she learnt the shifters knew about the prophecy but not the identity. They would only know on September 27 during the blood moon eclipse when all the pack alphas and other leading members would gather. Not just the US alphas but every country around the world would be sending a representative. It was going to be a huge event as they all knew the prophesied alpha-rex would be formally declared.

Vampires were not bound by superstition or the supernatural mumbo jumbo that shifters followed. This despite the fact that humans classified vampires as belonging to the supernatural. But what did they know? The  humans were as stupid and superstitious as the shifters.

But one had to compromise at times and Allison wanted to be queen.  She wanted a vanquished Jethro alive to witness her triumph and if capturing him alive was not viable, watching him die would have to be good enough.

Their original plan had been for her to kill him after a sex session. Since that was no longer viable she had to go with Plan B, but Plan B still needed them to locate Jethro.

Enter Ari Haswari.

Vampire bats were unique in the shifter world - they were classified as shifters yet had the vampire ability to become one of the undead. When a vampire bat was killed, it would return to life on the third night. Like vampires, the vampire bat needed to be killed during a total eclipse to stay dead.

Ari's corpse had been flown back to Israel after Ziva David shot and, supposedly, killed him five years ago. What really transpired was that Ari was buried according to the Jewish rites of his father. Three nights later, the soil in the grave moved and a little furry gray creature emerged.

If Ari Haswari's grave were to be exhumed afterwards, they'd find it empty. Ari Haswari lived incognito after that, moving from country to country, and taking on contract jobs as a mercenary in Africa.

"What's so special about September 27?" Ari had asked when Allison offered him a job.

"Jethro Gibbs supposedly gets some special powers that will render him much more difficult to dispense of," Allison had told him. "All I need you to do is locate him, follow him and report his whereabouts to me."

"That's all?"

"That is all."

"What's he done to get on your kill radar?"

"Nothing. Yet. But he will do a lot if we don't stop him from becoming king of the shifters. Imagine that, Ari - Jethro ruling over you. You do this little job for me and I'll see that you are amply rewarded when I become leader of both the vampires and shifters."

"I don't accept IOUs," Ari had said. "Give me something now."

Allison sighed. "You get half now and the balance once we have Jethro where we want him."

"I can find him and tail him but I'm not following him around indefinitely. I want an end date for the contract."

"Two weeks from today. Find him and report his whereabouts twenty-four seven. If we don't get him within two weeks, I won't need you."

And so Ari Haswari, the vampire bat shifter, became her tracking device.

 

\------------------

TBC

\------------------


	28. PART FOUR: REUNION - CHAPTER 28

PART FOUR - CHAPTER 28

**REUNION**

 

 

Over the next few weeks, things seemed to return to normal. The rioting earlier in the year had not recurred, though there was still reports of unrest from Asia and Russia. The alphas there were clamoring for help, despite acknowledging there wasn't much the American shifters could do. Already in the human world, American activities on foreign territory were cause for much criticism, what more if shifters were to get involved? Reforms on shifter laws were being called for - which currently forbade them from interfering in foreign pack matters - and the alphas reporting their packs felt isolated from the rest of the shifter kingdom.

This wasn't good, of course, but the shifter council agreed that arguing it wasn't the US alphas' responsibility to quell the foreign shifter unrest had fallen on deaf ears. The arguments had been going back and forth for years. Gibbs was tired of them. He was frustrated, his hands bound by ancient shifter laws that he could not repeal or change, antiquated or downright obselete he felt some to be. The world was no longer what it was a thousand years ago. Even more, for the shifter ways had been around for many millennia. The world, with its globalization and technology, was demanding changes in the mindset of the shifter kingdom but a kingdom couldn't change without a king. The shifter kingdom had been existing in a phantom-like state for two thousand years, since the last alpha-rex.

Gibbs gave himself a mental headshake to clear his thoughts. Those problems were for him to resolve once he was officially the alpha-rex and while they were monumental ones, he had to deal with Here and Now. The rest of the packs around the world would have to wait awhile longer so he steered his concentration back to the domestic situation.

There were no more shifter deaths in the US the past week and the task force team had some time to catch their breath. Nevertheless, everyone was still on alert. September 27 was approaching and they were all counting the days. He had kept in touch with Bishop by phone and oversaw the cases which she was handling with Dorneget, who had been seconded to the team. Dorneget had been hoping for a chance to join the MCRT and had been thrilled to stand in for McGee. Vance was back from his vacation and asked, every day, whether Gibbs had checked in.

Despite September 27 being on everyone's minds, there were three men whose thoughts were engrossed in one thing only today: for Gibbs, Jonas, and Tony, it was the final day of their bonding ritual. At the stroke of midnight tonight, they would be one. Life-mates forever.

Already, each day their emotional bond deepened and their physical desire for one another meant several time-outs which only brought on more snorts from Mike Franks.

"You know what, Mike?" Gibbs said after one such snort. " _You_ need to get laid."

"I get laid plenty," Mike shot back. "I just do it on my own time. I don't call a time-out on a meeting so I can go have a fuck."

Despite that, Gibbs carried on as he pleased. They would all have to get used to it. His life-mates came first, and always would. Besides, it would only be for awhile more and their bonding-fueled need for one another would ease.

This was the final evening of the required bonding cycle and he wanted something special, something that would bond them beyond the physical.

 

o     o     o

 

"I love you, Jethro, Tony." Jonas' warm breath ghosted along their skin as he took his time kissing and licking both of them.

"And I love you, too." Tony shifted back to his human to take Jonas into his mouth. The taste and scent of Jonas was driving him to a crescendo of desire.

"It's almost midnight, boys," Gibbs rasped, his cock hardening even more at the thought of what they were about to do. "Tony, you first, then Jonas."

Tony laid down, half off their bed. Gibbs spread him wide, applying lube generously into Tony's hole.

Holding Tony's legs tight against his chest, Gibbs entered him. After a few strokes, he leaned forward, almost climbing up onto the bed. This gave Jonas space to move in and as he plastered his chest against Gibbs' back, guided his cock into Tony.

"Easy, Jonas," Gibbs coaxed. "I can feel you. More. That's it. Slide all the way in."

Tony was breathing hard, the sensation of having both Gibbs and Jonas inside him was mind-boggling. When he felt the two cocks move inside him, he made a strangled sound but asked for more. In tandem, the two men moved inside Tony, fucking him lovingly and deliberately until all three were at the same place.

"Come inside me, both of you?" Tony asked. "Gibbs?"

"Yeah," Gibbs grunted out the monosyllable. "Jonas? Ready?"

Jonas croaked something that sounded affirmative.

"Now." Gibbs commanded. "Come inside him now." Both he and Jonas exploded inside Tony.

Jonas' cock was still throbbing when Gibbs withdrew from Tony, their hearts thudding so loudly they weren't sure whose it was each was feeling in his chest.

"Your turn, love." He kissed Jonas and helped him off Tony. "How do you feel?" he asked Tony when Jonas had withdrawn his cock and was laying, panting, on the bed.

Tony could only open and close his mouth. He sat up, hair all mussed, pupils still blown and swallowed hard. Then Gibbs opened his arms and Tony went into the embrace, clinging tightly to his alpha, his life-mate. His king. "I'm never going to let you go. I c-couldn't."

Gibbs smiled. "That's the whole idea. Come on. Jonas is waiting."

Gibbs kissed Jonas. "I haven't forgotten you." And folded Jonas' legs against his chest. Tony squeezed more lube into Jonas and slicked up both his and Gibbs' cock  liberally. Gibbs slid into Jonas' pulsating hole and Tony followed, his cockhead nudging at Jonas' opening to squeeze in against Gibbs' cock. It took awhile but the addition of more lube eased him in alongside Gibbs.

Jonas' groan reverberated around their bedroom. He was stretched and filled beyond full but the sensation was awesome, made especially so by the fact that it was Tony and Gibbs in him. These were the two men he loved and desired, leaving no room for anyone else. Not now, not ever.

He felt the further hardening of the two cocks inside him and knew they were moments from coming.

To his _un_ pleasant surprise, Gibbs pulled out and pulled Tony with him. Jonas gave a ragged protest then heard Gibbs say, "Both of you, in me. Now!"

"In _you_?" Tony asked, looking at Jonas uncertainly.

"Yes. Both of you, come inside me. Hurry. You have two minutes."

Jonas glanced at the digital clock on the bedside table. 2358 hours. Two minutes to midnight.

"You mean it?" Jonas asked.

"You're serious?" Tony asked at the same time.

"Sixty seconds," Gibbs said. "DO IT."

Jonas didn't argue. He grabbed the lube and squirted it into Gibbs then tossed it aside. "You in front?" he asked Tony.

"Okay," Tony said. Gibbs wanted him and Jonas to come inside him when the clock struck twelve. Gibbs didn't bottom so he was giving them something special. Tony wasn't going to argue.

Both Jonas and Tony gasped as their cocks slid into Gibbs. It was too much. Neither man could think. To say their brains had sunk down into their genitals would be an understatement.

Just as the seconds ticked by and midnight arrived, the two men poured themselves into Gibbs.

Not only was Jethro in them now, _they_ were in _him_. For life.

 

o     o     o

 

When Gibbs  opened his eyes, the morning sun was streaming through the windows. He turned to see Jonas and Tony cuddled up together in shifted form. Tony's head was tucked under Jonas' snout, the front of their bodies pressed tightly together. Both were sleeping soundly, their chests rising and falling in a steady rhythm. Gibbs hadn't shifted in the night but then, he rarely did. Only when a case was particularly stressful and played heavily on his mind would he shift, and go for a long run. Even that was getting harder to do as each year went by. He'd toyed with the idea of moving to the North-East to Washington State or Oregon and he might just do that once this operation was over and his life could return to normal.

He started to get out of bed but before he could, Tony and Jonas sprang up from the bed, ready to strike.

"Easy, boys," Gibbs said, "Going to the head." But the wolf and the malamute had shaken off sleep in an instant and shifting to their human forms to follow Gibbs.

After their morning ablutions, Gibbs told the two men to get back into bed after requesting for coffee to be brought up.

"I'm hungry," Tony said.

"Then get some food up," Gibbs said. "Jonas, inform the team that you'll be available only in the afternoon unless it's an emergency."

"Yes, Alpha-One."

"And I told you to call me Jethro."

"I'd rather address you by title when you're giving me an order, Alpha-One. Sir."

Gibbs rolled his eyes. "Just drop the ‘sir', then."

"Why is Jonas available only in the afternoon?" Tony asked. "What about me?"

"You're _both_ going to be occupied until I let you go," Gibbs said.

"Occupied with what?" Tony asked, still groggy from sleep and sex.

Gibbs rounded on him. "Are you slow or what this morning? What do you think you'll be occupied with?"

Realization dawned and a smile broke out on Tony's face. He moved into Gibbs' arms. "Will it involve cuddle time?"

 

o     o     o

 

_**Meanwhile...** _

Allison Hart paced her living room like a restless tiger, her long, scarlet nails digging into her palms. Her natural nails were always done in a French manicure, appropriate for work, she thought, but on weekends or when she was on vacation, she stuck on her inch-long false nails varnished with _Ecorce Sanguine_ from Chanel's 2015 Fall collection.

"What do you mean you haven't found him?" Allison demanded, rounding on Ari Haswari, who was lounging lazily on the sofa. "It's been three weeks. _Three_! I expected Jethro to have been found within one."

"The man's gone off the radar," Ari said. "And don't get snippy with me. If your men hadn't botched the job at the Navy Yard in the first place, Jethro wouldn't have been forewarned."

"It's only one more week to the deadline. FIND HIM!" She went to the mini bar and poured herself a whiskey, took a swallow then tapped her nails against the glass as she thought what to do next. Isaak was in LA to conclude a business deal and she would have to resolve this on her own. Besides, she didn't particularly want to tell Isaak that Ari - whom she had chosen for the task - had failed. She set her glass down and picked up her cell phone. "It's me. I've got another job for you. I'll give you the details later. Just make your team available for the next forty-eight hours." She  hung up and turned back to Ari. "Go to New Orleans. Call me when you arrive and I'll tell you where to go. Jethro Gibbs should be there in two days. _Don't_ fail me this time."

"Who was that?" Ari asked. "What are you planning?"

"You don't need to know."

Ari left without another word. He knew he was just a means to an end where the bitch was concerned but as long as it gave him a foot in, he would continue to fuck her and be her lackey.

But once he was in...

o     o     o

 

_**Back in DC...** _

The love-making was slow and sensual this time. They explored each other's bodies as if for the first time. For Tony and Jonas, they knew each other with a familiarity borne from a decade of intimacy, but for Gibbs, he felt like he was discovering the two men for the first time and vice versa.

There was hardly an inch of them he did not cover, and being wolves (and canine) there was an enormous amount of licking and sniffing, and comparing malamute and wolf scents. That ended up with Jonas and Tony comparing malamute and wolf cum, with Tony declaring that malamute semen tasted sweet compared to the spicy wolf's. Jonas begged to differ and an argument ensued.

Both men received a headslap from Gibbs.

Then he fucked them in shifted form, after which the three fell asleep spooned together.

It was close to six in the evening when their room phone rang. Jonas picked it up and after a few seconds hung up, saying, "I'll be right down." He got off the bed, saying, "Jethro, that was McGee on the secure line. Your house is on fire. I'm going to take a look. No, you stay put -"

"It could be a trap, Jeth," Tony said. "We'll handle it. Is there anything in the house you need?" Jonas was already out the door, speaking to the two security officers stationed outside the suite.

"Not really," Gibbs replied. "But there's a box, like a mini treasure chest. It belonged to Kelly. It's got all our pictures. Tell Jonas to get it if he can."

 

o     o     o

 

Jonas arrived at Gibbs' house by taking Tony's helicopter, flown by Zolar, who, obviously, was more than just a butler cum chauffeur.

"I guess I didn't mention I used to fly Blackhawk missions," Zolar said when Jonas mentioned not knowing Zolar was a helo pilot."

Jonas rappelled down in front of the house, relieved to see the fire was hadn't engulfed it but was still confined to the living room. They had seen the fire trucks on the main road and he could hear them now. Quickly, he ran to the back of the house, ignoring the questions by the curious neighbors, one of whom had called NCIS looking for Gibbs and informed Bishop about her boss' house being on fire.

Jonas went through the kitchen and down the stairway to the basement. Tony had wanted to come but Jonas told him to stay and guard Jethro. He would retrieve Kelly's treasure box as he knew it and was also familiar with Jethro's house. Tony wasn't.

Jonas knew where Jethro kept Kelly's treasure box and he smiled when he saw the miniature replica of a pirate treasure chest. He grabbed it and was about to dash up the stairs when he caught sight of something else. He rushed to it, grabbed it and its remote control and ran up the stairs, exiting the back door just as the fire truck stopped at the driveway.

He could hear the helo and looked up. Zolar came into view a moment later.

o     o     o

 

"A frisbee?" Tony asked. "You ran into a burning house and rescued a frisbee?"

"It's not a frisbee," Jonas said, handing Kelly's treasure chest to Gibbs.

Gibbs opened it and took out a stack of photographs and a cassette tape as well as some bracelets and a sweetheart locket. He opened the locket and smiled. Jonas and Tony crowded in to look. It was a picture of Shannon on one side, and one of Gibbs with another man on the other.

"Who's that?" Tony asked, pointing to Tom.

"Tom, Kelly's father," Gibbs said. "He was my best friend since we could walk. He was killed before Kelly was born."

Jonas took the packet of photos and started looking through them. "She kept photos of me," he said in wonderment, passing them to Gibbs.

Tony grabbed them off Gibbs and started laughing. "You had long hair! How old were you here?"

"Fourteen, fifteen," Jonas said.

"You were already as tall as Jethro?" Tony looked at a picture of Gibbs, Jonas, Kelly, and Shannon.

"Yeah. I grew another four inches after that then stopped." Jonas took the stack from Tony and started looking through them, bursting into laughter when he came upon some of the teenage Tony. "This is you?" He guffawed, waving the photo. "You look fucking weird. You really had hair like that?"

Tony grabbed the offending photos from Jonas. "You kept these?" he asked Gibbs. "I told you to throw them away!"

"I forgot," Gibbs replied, smiling as he looked at the photos taken of Tony and himself on their road trip to Miami.

For the next half hour, they poured over the photographs and reminisced over their younger years.

Then Jonas' cell phone rang. "That was Alpha Dwayne," he said, putting his phone away. "He just got a call from NCIS New Orleans." From his tone of voice, Gibbs and Tony knew it was bad. "An entire shifter family, including 3 children, have been massacred. "

"Your security detail in order?" Gibbs asked.

"Yes." Jonas nodded.

"Tony, arrange for us to fly down on the next available flight," Gibbs ordered. "Dwayne to accompany us. Tell McGee he's coming, too."

Tony did a doubletake. "McGee? Er, I don't think he'd be much help."

"He's not going to be _any_ help if we let him cower and hide. He's either part of the team or he's not. He's worked long enough with me to know what I expect."

"McGee it is, then," Tony responded. "What about Theron?" Tony asked. "He's in LA meeting with Callen. There's some development at that end."

"I'm sure he's already been apprised of the latest killings. Tell him we'll meet him New Orleans."

Tony arranged for the helo to take them to Dulles so they could be in time to catch the next flight to New Orleans.

"Alpha on the move!" Jonas spat the alert into his comms unit as they ran across the rooftop and climbed into the chopper - Jonas first, Gibbs, then Tony, followed by a bewildered McGee.

 

\-------------

BTC

\-------------


	29. PART FOUR: REUNION - CHAPTER 29

PART FOUR - CHAPTER 29

**REUNION**

 

 

_**New Orleans, LA** _

It was already sundown when their flight arrived at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport but Gibbs wanted to view the crime scene and not wait till the morning.

"Give us a sitrep," Dwayne said to his special agents as soon as they were on their way.

"Bad, as Brody said," Special Agent LaSalle replied. "Victims are Paul and Michelle Dubois and their three children. Dubois was with the 3rd Battalion 23rd Marines. Michelle was a GP with a private practice in Belle Chasse. The bodies haven't been moved yet as per your instructions, but we can't leave them there much longer."

"What's the ToD?" Gibbs asked.

"Estimated between noon and three," Brody replied. "We got a call from the Michelle's sister at three-thirty. Called you as soon as we arrived and found the bodies."

The DuBois' home was a two-story house in a quiet, well-kept suburb. Even though it was already dark, it was easy to see that the properties had well-maintained gardens and whatever vehicles were parked outside weren't broken down ones. The houses weren't all large but all had some form of landscape lights highlighting a spot of particular horticultural interest - a flowering shrub, a rock garden, or a small pond - evidence that the residents were house and garden-proud.

All the lights in the Dubois home were on. The crime scene tape cordoned off the property and a van was parked in the driveway. Blinds from houses across the road were being pulled up as Gibbs and company stopped outside the house. Some neighbors' doors were opening and curious residents were poking their heads out.

Gibbs entered the hallway and into the lounge where the carnage had him wincing.

McGee's eyes bugged but to his credit, held up well. That is, until he saw two pairs of puncture wounds on each side of the victims' necks, one on the chest where the aorta would be, two more sets on each side of the victims' groin where the femoral arteries were. He noticed there was blood was smeared on the necks and groin areas but not pooling on the floor as was the case in such crime scenes.

"Looks like a vampire orgy," Tony said, giving an exaggerated shudder. "Imagine five vampires feeding on one body...draining it of blood. Look how pale they are."

"Stop it, DiNozzo." McGee snapped. "Go stand guard at the door." Tony sniggered and bared his fangs at McGee with an exaggerated hiss.

"McGee, get some blood samples from each victim," Gibbs said. "And give them to Abby."

"I'll try" McGee said. "They look bloodless. I'll have to scrape some off their skin and off the walls."

"Try and get some from the victim," Gibbs reiterated. "I want the samples tested for the attackers' DNA."

"Okay," McGee said, doubtfully. "Won't be much." He eyed the puncture wounds on the necks and the bellies that had been ripped open, guts trailing on the floor and swallowed hard.

"Nah," Tony said. "There's always some just below the entry wounds. You can insert one of those plastic syringes and suck it up from the holes. The aorta puncture's bound to yield some, too, but you'd need something longer than a syringe. A straw, perhaps. Just suck the blood up to before it reaches your mouth. You know - like a vampire. Except you don't swallow."

McGee stared at him, mouth working noiselessly.

"DiNozzo -" Gibbs glared warningly at him.

"Special Agent Gibbs?" a voice interrupted.

 I'm Dr. Wade, the coroner. I understand the bodies are being flown to DC?"

Tony whispered to McGee, "Ease up, Sweetcheeks. I was kidding. Use the syringe."

"As soon as I'm done they can be moved." Gibbs replied. He shook Dr. Wade's hand. "Have we got everything Theron's team will need?" he asked Dwayne. "If not, the bodies will have to wait."

"Just spoke to him," Dwayne replied. "He's waiting to board the flight so it'll be another three hours before he can get here. We'll have to get whatever he needs for him so we can fly the bodies to Ducky tonight."

"What you got so far?" Gibbs asked Dr. Wade.

"Initial estimation, time of death was between one and two in the afternoon," Dr. Wade replied. "Nature of the injuries would point to a shifter attack. Either a wolf or canine; could be feline, though. We'll know when we get the bodies back to Ducky. I've already spoken to him and he's waiting."

 "If the attackers were shifters, we should find evidence to support that." Gibbs looked around at the blood spatter on the walls then walked to the bodies of an adult and two children. "Where's the mother?"

"Upstairs," LaSalle replied. "In the baby's room."

"That's the point of interest," Dr. Wade said.

"The baby's room?" Gibbs asked.

"The _baby_ ," Dr Wade replied pointedly. "Or what's left of it."

"Why are you standing there, McGee?" Gibbs barked. "Come on up."

Tony winked at McGee as they followed LaSalle up the stairs.

o     o     o

 

What was left of the six-month old baby was a bloody mess. Missing its head and vital organs. Beside its cot, on the floor, was the body of a Golden Labrador, it's throat ripped, guts pouring out of the lifeless carcass.

"No...no." Tony knelt down beside the dog since everyone else's attention was on the cot. "You're a mama." He eyed the dog's teats. "Where are your babies?"

Michelle Dubois had been found on the stair landing, the trail of blood leading from the kitchen to the landing. She was headless, too. Presumably she had tried to go upstairs to her baby but succumbed to her wounds midway.

"We haven't had this before," Gibbs said. "A headless vic. Not for the shifter deaths, I mean. Why would they take the heads this time?"

"And why the mother's and baby's heads but not the dad's and two older kids'?" Jonas wondered out loud.

"Most probably for a hoodoo ritual," LaSalle said. At the others' looks, he added, "We've had shifter reports of vodoun rituals being held in the bayou. One of the ingredients is a baby's and its mother's skull."

" _Ingredients?_ " McGee asked, eyes wide.

"The baby's vital organs are boiled and made into a gumbo using the mother's skull as a pot," LaSalle explained. "The blood of the mother is added into the gumbo and it's dished out into the skull of the baby to be consumed during the ritual. For the truly dedicated, a hot sauce made with the piss of a black cat is added."

"I love gumbo," Tony murmured. "Or used to. Until today."

"What's hoodoo?" Gibbs asked.

"It's a form of folk magic that originated in West Africa and is mainly practiced today in the Southern US," LaSalle replied. "What people call ‘voodoo' these days is actually ‘hoodoo'. Voodoo is a diasporic religion brought over by the African slaves. Hoodoo is folk magic."

"Hoodoo ascribes magical properties to herbs, roots, minerals, animal parts, and personal possessions," LaSalle added. "Some spells even make use of bodily effluvia and detritus - menstrual blood, semen, urine, spit, tears, nail clippings, hair..."

"The mother's blood and the baby's organs and head," Tony said.

"Exactly." LaSalle said.

"If it's a hoodoo ritual, then the attackers would be local, wouldn't they?" Gibbs surmised.

"At least one of them," Dwayne replied. "If one, then he's leader and the sole local member of the pack. The other attackers being vampires. If there were more than one shifter involved then there had to be several - enough to make the vampires agree to a hoodoo ritual."

Gibbs didn't like the sound of that. It meant the rogue infiltration was deeper than they thought. "We need to find out why the Dubois family were targeted."

"Theron's team will do that," Dwayne said. "Let's hope the hoodoo ritual was a concession towards a single alpha and not a pack."

"Okay, let's get the bodies out to Ducky straightaway," Gibbs said, leaving the room.

McGee didn't have to extract the blood from the victims. He'd rushed down the stairs and out the house to puke so Dr. Wade offered to do it instead.

 

o     o     o

 

_**Back in DC...** _

 "No, Abby," Ducky told her.  "This is not a good time to try and overcome your autopsy phobia."

"But why? I think it's fantastic time!" Abby argued. "They are wolf shifters and I want to see if they look the same inside as outside. You know, same as a human body. Like, they could have wolf guts instead of human. I'd never get something as fascinating as this to help me conquer my phobia."

Ducky envisioned Abby seeing the corpse of the headless baby and shook his head. "No, and that's final." Abby's face fell. "Look, dear." Ducky patted her arm. "Let me do the autopsy and when I'm done you can come down," he said, giving himself a mental note to have the baby's corpse removed before she came down.

Abby brightened. "That'll work. Thanks, Ducky." She turned to go then halted and whirled round. Her eyes widened as she looked back at the ME as if something just hit her.

"What is it?" Ducky asked.

"You. You're a wolf shifter."

"Ye-es," Ducky said. "And?"

"I just..." Abby sought for words. "It's weird. You're the same Ducky I've known for fifteen years. I mean you look the same and sound the same..."

"I _am_ the same person you've known these fifteen years."

Abby considered that, chewing on her bottom lip. "I guess you are. I mean, all this while you've been the Ducky I know, butr you were also a wolf shifter."

"That's right."

"And nothing's changed."

"None at all."

"And that goes for Gibbs, too, then."

Ducky smiled. "Ahh, the joy of conversing with an intelligent woman."

Someone rapping on the doors had Ducky and Abby looking up.

 

o     o     o

 

_**Dinner in New Orleans** _

As the bodies of the DuBois family were being flown to DC, Gibbs and the team headed for _Maison_ Dwayne. Laurel, Dwayne's daughter, had volunteered to cook dinner so the aroma of Cajun cooking filled the air as the team walked in. Jax and his investigators arrived from LA just as the others were sitting down to dinner.

LaSalle updated Jax who then asked Jonas how long they'd be staying in New Orleans.

"Flying back tomorrow morning," Jonas replied.

"We came down only because I wanted to see the crime scene intact," Gibbs said. "The previous killings were outside DC and did not involve Navy personnel so NCIS was never involved. By the time I found out they were shifters, they were cold cases."

"So this is your first shifter crime scene?" Jax asked.

Gibbs nodded. "We'll leave you and your team to conduct the investigation. We'll meet you back in DC."

"Unless there's another killing," Jonas said. "Callen's reporting activity in the Lake Tahoe region. We might have to fly over next."

"He also reported that Isaak Sidorov has been spotted in LA. His agent lost him, though, but Callen felt it's significant that Sidorov would emerge from hiding. He'll keep us updated on that."

They discussed the possibility of Isaak Sidorov being the rogue were leader and concluded that it was, in fact, probable. Sidorov, who made his money dealing in blackmarket arms, had the financial means to sustain a rebel group. As far as they could ascertain, the rogue shifters were wolves and canines. Jax had gotten chatter from the feline shifter community and reports were that there were no feline rogues being spoken about even though they were aware of the wolf shifter packs causing unrest. There were no reports of rogues from the other species either.

The difficulty they'd faced hunting down the rogue weres was that there seemed to be no pattern, no system to the attacks. Sometimes it was a pack, at others, just a single attacker, or two. The attacks came at divergent times and locales, making it difficult to predict. Most of all, they did not boast of their killings nor had they made any demands. The team couldn't identify the rationale for the rogues' actions. It was the same with the killings in Asia, the Middle East and the Eastern bloc. All senseless killings with seemingly no motive except to frighten the local shifter population. The vampires deaths did nothing beyond causing grumbles amongst them and murmurs that the victims deserved it for disturbing the peace. Vampires, as shifters knew, wanted to be left alone to conduct business and busy themselves with their sybaritic pursuits.

So all the investigative team had were rumors and like witness testimonies, were often unreliable. The most reliable one being the admission by one of the attackers at the Navy lunch that Gibbs had been the intended target. This partly confirmed the rumors that the rogues had put a hit on Gibbs but not why. That it was because they were against the peace plan was merely an assumption.

"It's more likely that they want to install their own leader," Tony suggested. "Not because they're against peace with the vampires since we know vampires are involved in the attacks."

Gibbs wasn't buying it. "But vampires don't get involved with shifters. Especially not in something like this. Vampires aren't trouble-makers and rabble rousers by nature. There's got to be another reason why they're involved this time."

"Who, aside from us know about Alpha Jethro being the prophesied king?" Brody asked.

"The protective detail," Dwayne replied. "The shifter council, and the newcomers from NCIS - Abby Sciuto and Timothy McGee. Also some alphas from the state packs."

"Don't forget the other species," Tony said. "The wolf alphas may keep it quiet but doesn't mean the others will. Sorry, but shifters are gossips. Nothing stays a secret. By the next social gathering or weekend barbecue, the entire shifter community knows who's fucking whom."

"You mean by the end of the _day_ ," LaSalle corrected. "It's a good thing we don't have that telepathy thing the humans portray us as having. In fact, we don't need it. Shifters are the fastest texters in the world."

"Don't forget Twitter was founded by shifters," Brody pointed out.

"Twitter? That bird talk thing?" Gibbs asked.

Everyone looked quizzically at him.

"Um, yeah," Tony said. "Exactly that."

"That was created by a shifter?" Gibbs asked.

"Yup," they all replied in unison.

"A wolf shifter?" Gibbs asked.

"No, four bird shifters," Tony replied. "Magpies, if I'm not mistaken."

Gibbs grunted. "Figures. Magpies were named after chattering old women named Margaret back in the Middle Ages."

"Really?" Tony asked. "Where did you learn that?"

"From Ducky," Gibbs replied.

They debriefed on the Minnesota killings after that, noting the same MO for the others except New Orleans. In all the other killings, the victims were drained of their blood but no body parts were missing. In the New Orleans killings, the father and two older kids were drained of blood but the mother and baby were not. If LaSalle was right about a hoodoo ritual being involved and the mother's blood had been taken, she hadn't been drained.

I say it's a group of attackers," Dwayne said. "More than two.

"The dad and two older kids were sucked dry and their bodies mangled," Jonas said. "So I'd say a mix of vampires and carnivorous shifters did them. The baby's head was a clean decapitation, made by a knife going by the smooth cut; the mother was savaged but not drained of blood. So I'd say the shifters did those and LaSalle's right about hoodoo being involved."

"The question is, why?" Dwayne asked. "Why are they killing shifters?"

"Why kill vampires?" Gibbs asked. "There have been ten vampire and twenty shifter deaths in the past year. All of the vampire kills happened during lunar eclipses, the last one taking place in April this year during the full lunar eclipse."

"Vampires can only be destroyed during a total eclipse. Solar and lunar," Jonas said. "So ten vampire kills in one year shows the rogues are afraid of something badly enough to get the killing done in the shortest time possible."

"And it has to be linked to September 27," Brody added. "We just have find out why the vampires are so concerned about our alpha-rex. So what if they aren't supportive of better relations between vampires and shifters? Doesn't seem reason enough to kill Alpha Jethro. He won't be ruling over the vampire world. Vampires do not have a king."

"You're wrong there" Jax said. "We said, earlier, that the alpha-rex _will_ be ruling over the vampires, too."

Both Brody and LaSalle were surprised.

"We've not heard anything like that," Brody said. "We know about the prophesied alpha-rex but until a few days ago, we didn't even know it was Gibbs." She blew out a breath. Brody was a cougar shifter and, like most feline shifters, weren't interested in politics or anything that would court publicity. The news of a prophesied alpha-rex hardly caused a stir in the feline shifter community and they would understand even less, that there was a battle over the coming king. "You say the vampires are involved? Why?" she addressed the question to Jax who, like her, was a mountain lion.

"You're right in that vampires do not have a king," Jax replied. "But they will." He looked at Gibbs. "When Alpha Jethro takes the throne. For the first time ever, the vampires _will_ have a king."

"Whoa." Brody expelled a breath. "So maybe not all the vampires want that, huh?"

"Nope." Gibbs said. "Not that I blame them. It would be like collaring and caging a wild animal that's used to roaming free."

"But they have an elected President," LaSalle said.

"That's not a political office," Tony said. "The vampire President does not rule over the vampire population. He's the president of a club.  Members are the influential and the captains of industry. But they have nobles," he conceded. "So they had to have had a king at some point in the past. Like us shifters. Our last alpha-rex was when Jesus walked the earth. The last vampire could have been during the Jurassic Age!" He looked around at their faces. "Aww, come on. It isn't all that far-fetched. It's why the vampires want to kill Alpha Jethro. Somehow, the vampires know the new alpha-rex will also be the new vampire king and -hang on, let me finish - and there're pockets of resistance, as Brody said. What we need to do is find out whether there is some kind of vampire prophecy as well."

Tony paused for breath and Gibbs said, "Even if you're right, it doesn't help us stop the killings."

"It will, if we know who are the strongest opponents to a vampire king. They'd be even more opposed to a _shifter_ being their king. They won't necessarily dirty their hands but, true to character, they'd hire shifters to do the dirty work. And what vampire rogues are involved, they're bound to be at the bottom of the vampire food chain."

The group mulled over that. Tony, satisfied with his input, helped himself to the gumbo. He stopped, dug through the stew, verified that there were no organs in it then filled his bowl.

"Tony's right," Gibbs said, "Vampires have their problem elements. Not on the scale of us shifters but they have them. We need to find just one or two and interrogate them."

"Arras and Nick could accomplish that," Jax said.

"What's your plan?" Jonas asked.

"Infiltrate the rogues. They play the part of disgruntled, disenchanted members, get themselves recruited."

Jonas nodded. "Let's do it."

And they resumed eating, polishing off the platters.

McGee’s food lay mostly uneaten on his plate. His glass of water was empty, though.

"No appetite, McVoodoo-Hoodoo?" Tony asked him.

"Go. Away." McGee's glower had Tony chuckling.

"You know what, Timmy Boy?" Tony asked, waving his fork in the air. "I'm sure in another life we were team mates. _Team_ mates. Not life-mates," he clarified when McGee choked.

 

\-------------

TBC

\-------------


	30. PART FOUR: REUNION - CHAPTER 30

PART FOUR - CHAPTER 30

**REUNION**

 

 

Nick was all for the shifter-vampire alliance or whatever they called it. What he'd heard was that the powers-that-be were working towards acceptance amongst the shifters and vampires to welcome shifter-vampire pairings.

The shifter world had not yet totally embraced homosexuality but it wasn't as bad as a couple of decades ago when gay bashings were common, especially amongst wolf shifters. By contrast, feline and dog shifters accepted their gay brethen without problem.

He'd learnt that DiNozzo and Raven were Alpha Jethro's life-mates. Man, was he envious. He, too, wanted that family atmosphere - loved ones and team mates around the dinner table. The coziness of it all appealed to him, which could be incongruous, considering he spent his life taking out enemies, blowing up stuff and killing with his bare hands - or feet - and was no stranger to blood and gore.

Speaking of which, that headless baby was nasty. Worse, because the group agreed the attackers were most likely local shifters, so Nick and Arras would commence their undercover op in New Orleans as soon as Arras arrived...he checked the time...any time now.

Vampires. Nick blew out a breath. Worse, not just any vampire but Arras Vartanian. Believed to be the deadliest assassin that walked this planet. Cold and dispassionate like the soulless creatures vampires were.

Arras Vartanian was...Nick sighed again. Unattainable. Not that Nick wanted him in the first place. He knew better than to fool around with those out of his league. Or with a vampire.

Arras Vartanian was a very tall man. Six foot five, with a lean, muscular frame. He had black brows that winged over silver eyes, giving him a dark, mysterious allure. His physical beauty made him impossible to  resist.

Or thought he was, Nick muttered to himself.

Arras apparently came from some noble stock in Europe. Not Nick. He came from Mexican peasant stock. At least his grandparents. He used to tell himself his great-grandparents were high-born Spanish entrepreneurs who migrated to Mexico and had suffered a financial setback, forcing his parents to migrate to the US in search of work.

Jax had laughed at his preoccupation with having come from peasant stock and told him the Theron family came from junk; that to this day they weren't totally accepted by the old Bostonian families despite the Theron wealth because everyone knew the Therons were mongrels.

Nick wished he possessed that savoir faire that Jax had. The man couldn't care less what others thought of him. Nick used to think it was because Jax was a billionaire but then he saw how other rich dudes fell over their own feet to be accepted by society, to be on the A-List of the best parties in town. Jax showed him money only made life more comfortable, it didn't build character. That was within the man himself and a poor man could be as solid and honorable as one who was wealthy.

It had been a bit of a struggle but he'd eventually nurtured the right things under Jax's mentorship. He'd been proud of himself.

Until he set eyes on Arras Vartanian two years ago. And every vestige of self-control had gone out the window and all the old baggage had come rushing back. He'd heaved a sigh of relief when Arras was relocated to a different KnightShadow training center.

Nick had been with the KnightShadow for ten years and it had become home for him in every way. He wished he could be like Jax who didn't need anyone permanent and was happy with a whole world of shifters to pick from. Nick knew Jax fucked vampires, too, but no one had a place in Jax's heart. And Jax was fine with that.

No so, Nick. He wanted to have a life-mate but he'd never met a shifter he felt the desire to bond with. Lots of lovers, yes, and even potential life-mates but after a few encounters, it would fizzle out and he'd be alone again.

What bugged the hell out of him was that each time he saw Arras Vartanian, he'd feel that ache in his chest and gut. That would be replaced by disgust because Arras would look at him dismissively, not speak to him directly and generally treat him as if he wasn't there. Granted, they would always in a group and never alone together, but still...

It pissed Nick off bigtime, to say the least, because he was one of the best operatives KnightShadow had. He'd conducted dozens of missions at home and abroad, accomplishing all but one so the vampire had no cause to treat him with such disdain.

 He'd never worked with Arras before; never even been in close proximity; never even spoken to the man over the phone but he could assess the prick just by the way the man looked at him.

Nick hoped Arras could set aside his prejudices and not be a pain in the ass because that would really suck. But being recruited into KnightShadow should be enough to tell Nick his fears were unwarranted. You had to be a topnotch professional to get even a foot into KnightShadow. If he could suck it up and play nice, Arras damned well could.

The doorbell to Dwayne's house clanged and he heard Dwayne open the door.

Nick straightened up and went to meet his vampire lover.

o     o     o

 

**_New Orleans_ **

"Let's go to the crime scene," Arras Vartanian said, as soon as he entered Dwayne's house. No greeting, nothing.

"It's almost midnight," Nick said.

"You shifters don't work overtime?" Arras asked.

"I meant that the bodies are no longer there," Nick said, tersely. "They're in DC by now for the autopsy." _Dickhead_ , he added under his breath.

"I know. I want to see the crime scene, nonetheless."

"Okay, let's go. Can vampires see in the dark like us wolf shifters or do I need to bring a Mag-lite?"

"We see fine in the dark," Arras replied. "But that's not my strong point."

"What is?"

"Wouldn't you love to know," Arras murmured, moving away to the patio where Dwayne was sitting in the moonlight having a quiet drink with Gibbs.

Nick scowled at the vampire's back. He didn't know Arras well. Actually, not at all. He took it for granted that the man had skills which made him qualified to join an organization like KnightShadow, whose operatives all possessed some unique skill. His was his super eyesight and marksman skill. He could shoot a bird out of the air. In a moving vehicle.

He wondered what Arras Vartanian's was.

 

o     o     o

 

Arras was not a happy man. Not since he sensed the presence of his life-mate two years ago yet could not identify him. He knew it wasn't anyone from KnightShadow because he was the only vampire in the organization. He wouldn't even have known about KnightShadow if not for Anthony DiNozzo Sr, a close family friend, who'd recommended him to Jax Theron.

In the course of his two years, he'd racked up several kills, mainly in the ISIS-controlled areas. He'd hardly been back on US soil over the last five years so he was pleased to receive this new assignment despite never having worked with a partner before. Assassins worked alone. At most, he had a spotter if it was sniper work, but most of the time, his hits were well-planned executions ordered by his handlers.

All he'd been told was to report to Alpha Dwayne's home in New Orleans asap. His departure had been delayed for an hour but it was better than having to wait and catch a morning flight. This way, he wouldn't waste a whole night.

Delays irked him. Delays could often mean missing a mark so he often planned to be in a place well before his intended hit. This time, there was no hit and it was his other skill that was sought - his unique ability to sense his prey's presence and to track him down. Some vampires had this ability but it was rare. Even then, it was more a heightened sensitivity to danger, in much the same way as an antelope sensed the presence of a lion on the hunt.

What differentiated Arras Vartanian from other similarly-gifted vampires was his ability to detect a specific prey the way a bloodhound used its sense of smell to track a person over great distances, even over water, and over several days old. This was in addition to the ability to sense another vampire - an ability limited to purebred vampires.

Jax had given him the brief over the phone - track down the rogue weres and vampires. Do Not Apprehend but keep track of them and identify the leaders. Infiltrate the rebel group, if necessary, but get their identities without alerting them.

 

o     o     o

 

The ride to the crime scene was quiet. As in total silence, quiet. The guy was totally off the charts on the strange meter, Nick thought. He supposed it would have to be up to him to strike up a conversation.

"How was your flight from Houston?" he asked.

"Fine."

"I thought you'd catch the morning flight tomorrow, it being so late already."

No response.

"You been back in the US long?"

"No."

Nick was going to be so easily discouraged. "You're usually stationed OUTCONUS, aren't you?"

"Yes." Arras kept his eyes straight ahead. Not once did he look back at Nick who was sitting forward in the back seat.

Nick shot him a frown. "Not very chatty, are you?" He heard Dwayne snigger.

He had about given up expecting a response so he was surprised when Arras said, "Not when I'm concentrating on a case."

 _O-kaay._ Nick sat back and gave up being sociable.

When they arrived at the DuBois' home, Arras grabbed his backpack and told Dwayne and Nick to stay in the vehicle.

"Stay in the vehicle?" Nick repeated incredulously. "Why the hell would -"

"It's okay," Dwayne said, placing a hand on Nick's arm. "He needs to survey the crime scene without fresh scents contaminating it."

"What do you mean?" Nick asked grumpily as they watched Arras walk up the DuBois' driveway.

"Vartanian has an extraordinary sense of smell," Dwayne said.

"So? He's going to literally sniff out the rogues?"

"Looks like. A blood hound's is 300 times better than a human's. A bear's sense of smell is 2,100 times greater than a human's.  Arras' olfactory senses are even greater than a bear's. If we cut open Vartanian's brain, we'd probably find an abnormally-large olfactory bulb in his forebrain."

"Stop." Nick held up a hand. "You're sounding like Ducky."

Dwayne gave a short laugh. "Where do you think I got the info from?"

"How come you know about his super-nose?" Nick asked as the two men observed Arras from their vehicle. "I didn't until you told me."

"I didn't until after this morning in DC." Dwayne replied. "I asked Jax about Vartanian since I'd never met him and he gave me a brief description. You know Jax - never volunteers information. You know only if you ask and even then it's need-to-know."

"Hey, I have to sleep with the guy, I think that qualifies me to know!" Nick snapped. When he saw Dwayne's brow lift, he quickly clarified, "I meant I have to share a room with him."

"Which is why I'm telling you. Now, listen up. See what he did, smelling everything?"

"He's a super bloodhound, what about it? Wait, why didn't we use him earlier if he's able to smell out the perps?"

"Because Jax only found out _after_ he assigned Vartanian."

"What?" Nick gave a burst of laughter. "You're kidding."

"Nope. Jax knew only after he called Vartanian about this assignment and Vartanian mentioned that it would give his unique skill a challenge. And, of course, Jax asked ‘ _what_ unique skill'? You know, in _that_ tone of voice."

"Whoa, man, that must have pissed Jax off. Arras must be in the doghouse, keeping something like that from Jax."

"Yup. That's why Jax paired him up with you."

"Oh, come _on_. It was Jonas who partnered me with Arras, not Jax, and that was before Jax spoke to Arras."

"Yeah, but you're both still KnightShadow men so Jonas would still clear it with Jax even if Jonas is the mission CXO. Not that Jax would say no..."

"What did you mean ‘that's why Jax paired Arras up with me?"

Dwayne's eyes twinkled under the streetlight. "To punish him."

"Punish? Being partnered with me is punishment? WHY?" Nick came close to yelling the last word.

Dwayne was chuckling away. "Well, you know what a chatterbox you can be, right? And you know how Vartanian is..." he chuckled again but the laughter stopped abruptly. "He's back."

Arras got into the car. "Thanks. I'm done. Let's go."

 

 

\-----------

**TBC**

\-----------


	31. PART FOUR: REUNION - CHAPTER 31

PART FOUR - CHAPTER 31

**REUNION**

 

 

 

Ari tabbed the button and waited. Allison picked up after two rings. "Well done," he said, having shifted back to human after leaving Dwayne's house. "Gibbs turned up as you said he would. He left the crime scene with Dwayne Pride - he's the Alpha-One of the South-West Quadrant and an NCIS special agent in New Orleans. Gibbs is staying with him. Two of the visitors left the house close to midnight but Gibbs stayed put. I'm still watching the house. Can see him through his bedroom window, making out with two of the men he came with. I don't know them. Did you know he was gay?"

Allison ignored the question. "How long will Gibbs be there?" she asked.

"Not long enough for you to plan an attack unless you already have someone ready. He's flying back to DC on the 7.45am flight from Dulles. No mention of what airline. I haven't checked. I called you straightaway."

"I'll find out," Allison said. "I want you back in DC before Gibbs does. I can't have someone else tail him from the airport. His security detail will know they're being followed. Keep up your surveillance from the moment he lands and find out where his safe house is. We can't lose him now. Time is running out."

Ari caught the 5.30am flight back to DC and waited for Gibbs to arrive at Dulles. As soon as he caught sight of him, Ari followed at a discreet distance until a Lincoln Navigator pulled up at the kerb and Gibbs climbed in, followed by four men, two of them the ones Ari had seen him fucking the night before.

He kept an eye on the vehicle, letting it go past before running to a spot  at the authorized-parking-only lot. He looked around to ensure no one was nearby then squatted down between two parked vehicles.

A moment later, Ari the bat flapped its way off after the Lincoln Navigator.

 _So, that's where you're hiding_ , he said to himself, twenty-five minutes later when the Lincoln Navigator stopped at the gates of a house on Chain Bridge Road. He was flying high enough to monitor the vehicle and careful not to get too close in case Gibbs' shifter guards detected him. The guards would be on alert for rogue shifters and that included birds. If they saw a bat flapping behind all the way from Dulles, he'd be made and Allison would be pissed. He still wanted her despite her snooty ways and there were things he could still show her that would drive her batshit crazy with pleasure. He giggled at his pun.

He watched the vehicle drive into what he assumed was the underground garage but wasn't in time to fly in before the doors closed. He flew to another tree close to the house, looking for another access. As a bat, he could roost on the ceiling or wall, unlike birds but no one really wanted a bat in their house. Moreover, he was a vampire bat, not indigenous to the US, much less the nation's capital though some would insist bloodsuckers did live in DC.

He circled the house, noting with frustration that most of the glassed walls had their curtains drawn. What was the point of having picture windows then drawing the curtains! After circling the structure a few times, he couldn't find a way into the upper levels where he guessed the bedrooms were.

He called Allison again. As he expected, she wasn't satisfied with his failure to get into the safe house.

"My job was to find him and I did," Ari told her. "Make sure the rest of my payment is in my account within twenty-four hours. You want me to do more, the price goes up. For your information, I doubt you'll be able to get near Gibbs. Security is tighter than a virgin."

"Leave it to me," Allison said. "If you can't infiltrate the building then your job's done. I have other people who can get to him."

 "I doubt it. The property is in a secluded area," Ari said. "Visitors will be clearly visible before they even reach the gates. I couldn't see signs of anyone even though the upper floors had a lot of glass. So whoever's in there are either in secure inner rooms, or a basement."

"I told you, leave it to me. I'll have the balance of your fee transferred to you."

"Are we meeting for dinner tonight?"

"I have an important meeting this evening. I'll call you." Allison rang off then pressed a number on her speed dial.

"The fire didn't work either," Allison said when Isaak picked up. "When will you be back?"

"Soon. I have a few things to take care of first," Isaak said. "What about New Orleans? Is Gibbs still there?"

"He flew off this morning. Too short for us to set something up and he was surrounded by security. But Haswari succeeded in locating his hideout." She told Isaak where that was.

"I know that property. It belongs to an Anthony DiNozzo Junior. It's his private residence. Hmm. Interesting. But Haswari is right. Security there is near impenetrable. Tony DiNozzo, apart from being a Diplomatic Defense Security special agent, is also the son of a very wealthy, very influential shifter - Anthony DiNozzo Senior. Junior entertains diplomats and other high-ranking officials so his home is more secure than the White House. We'll have to think of another way to get to Gibbs." 

 

o     o     o

_**818 Bourbon Street, New Orleans** _

The  one-bedroom apartment was right on Bourbon Street and just a couple of minutes walk to the bar cum hoodoo museum where the local weres and vampires hung out with unsuspecting tourists. It belonged to a friend of Dr. Wade and was usually rented out to short stay visitors.

The two men climbed up the stairs to the apartment on the upper floor and Nick tensed as he was about to insert the key into the lock. Arras was in the way but instead of moving, he shifted so that as Nick inserted the key, unlocked and opened the door, he was so close Nick felt warm breath ghosting on his neck.

He drew away quickly, unnerved by the close proximity yet unable to discern the reason for his tension.

"I make you nervous," Arras murmured.

Nick laughed. "You wish. And wow. You can talk."

Arras merely smiled.

"Come on," Nick said. "Let's go check out the shop. What's it called?" He opened a closet and put his duffel bag inside.

Arras did the same but put his backpack on the bed. "Vamp It Up. A local institution. The house is now a heritage site."

"A heritage site," Nick repeated. "I'd have thought it would be named The House of Voodoo, or something."

"It was - Musée Vodou - until the 60s when it was changed to, presumably, make it sound more hip." Arras' lips twisted in derision. **  
**

"Well, let's go."

"Wait," Arras said. "Tthe scents I picked up at the crime scene - I want to go over them again in case I pick up something I missed yesterday." He took out the evidence bags and methodically went through each item. DuBois had fought back and injured two attackers. Blood from one had been staunched by a wad of tissue and blood from another had been spattered on DuBois' clothing.

Unfortunately, there was nothing to track the vampire attackers as vampires did not leave scents. Whatever scents their host bodies had, dissipated like vapor once the vampire left the scene. Except in their faeces. Arras had tracked down vampires in his previous career as an assassin via anal sex with a focus on rimming but he doubted Nick wanted to know that. Neither was Arras going to talk about sex with the skittish young man. He was already unsettled by his own response to Nick Monterey and until he found out why, Nick was best kept at arm's length. Arras put the evidence bags back in his backpack.

"Nothing new?" Nick asked.

"Not from the evidence but there's a faint one I'm carrying from the exterior of the house. We'll go back to the crime scene after Vamp It Up."

Vamp It Up was a one-story shop on the corner of St Ann and Bourbon Street, a couple of minutes' walk from the apartment. Several tourists were mingling, chattering to each other and a shop assistant was yelling at them not to take photos.

Nick browsed the shelves, familiar with some, like the ubiquitous voodoo dolls, amulets and charms, and some he'd never come across - like the Lover's Cupcakes. They were ordinary cupcakes with white icing on top and criss-crossed with strawberry jelly.

"Hey, I love cupcakes," Nick said. "Let's get some to go."

"Later," Arras said. "There's a spiritual advisor at the annexe," Arras told Nick quietly. "I'll see if we can get a meeting. Instead of palms or tarot cards, St Cyr reads pressure points, the points along an artery."

"You want your fortune told? Now?" Nick asked. "I thought vampires didn't believe in that sort of thing."

"No, I don't and no, we don't but if we want to get to the rogue shifters and vampires in Louisiana, he's the one to talk to."

Arras went up one of the counter clerks and asked to see St Cyr.

"Do you have an appointment?" the clerk asked in a snooty voice despite the numerous nose rings and the gum she was furiously chewing.

"No, but I'm an old friend. I just flew in. If you would tell him Nakharaz Vartanian would like to visit, I'd appreciate it."

"Would you write that down for me?" the gum-chewing clerk asked, shoving a pen and paper at Arras.

"Nakharaz?" Nick repeated. "Who's that?"

"Not who. What. It's a very ancient title of the highest order given to Armenian-Georgian nobility. The more modern term ' _nakharar',_ was used until the early 20th century when the Bolsheviks abolished the noble class. Vampires have retained the old ways, of course."

"No communist vampires, huh?"

Arras chuckled softly. "No."

The clerk returned and this time, gave Arras a wide smile. "St Cyr will see you. Come with me."

They were led to the back of the shop and out to a courtyard which had a spiral stairway leading to an adjacent building with an open corridor that overlooked the courtyard. Lots of potted greenery gave it a lush setting amidst the old, crumbling façade of the buildings.

They went up the spiral staircase and were taken to one of the rooms where St Cyr was lounging on a day bed, surrounded by brocade cushions, lighted incense candles and an ornate brass incense burner hanging from the ceiling.

"Come in, gentleman." St Cyr rose from the bed when Arras and Nick entered the room.

"Thank you for seeing us without an appointment," Arras said, taking the seat St Cyr offered.

"It is not often I get a visit from a Nakharaz. Never, in fact. I did not think there were any left."

"There is only my family left."

St Cyr appeared unconvinced but didn't voice his skepticism. A Nakharaz was a noble title reserved for one of the oldest, most powerful vampire families in ancient Caucasus. He'd heard they still survived but those rumors were many generations ago. There had been just as many imposters and this man could merely be one more.

"You do not believe me," Arras said. "I understand. The best I can do is allow you a small test. You will be able to tell my vintage, if not confirm my family line."

"And why would I need to do that?" St Cyr asked. He'd agreed to see Vartanian because he was curious as to who and why someone would pose as a Nakharaz.

"Because Nick and I seek refuge. Nick is a wolf shifter. He is also my mate. Yes, I see you understand our dilemma."

"I certainly do, though I also understand why you'd want him." St Cyr gave Nick an appreciative look. "If you are who you say you are, why are you seeking refuge here? Why not whisk him away to a safe place? Your ancestral home in Georgia is a World Heritage Site. Why have you not taken your mate there?"

"Nick is a wolf shifter, as I mentioned. I'm sure you know how pack-oriented they are. Our relationship is still new. We have been together less than a year. I want to bring him home but not just yet. Nick needs to adjust at his own pace."

"He must mean a lot to you," St Cyr said. "We vampires don't understand the pack mentality of wolf shifters and their need for a close community. I take it you have thought long and hard about this?"

"Of course. We've heard there are packs that aren't hostile to same-sex pairings but a vampire and a wolf shifter? That _would_ be stretching it."

"There is one pack but they might end up more trouble than they are worth," St Cyr said, after a moment.

"It's only temporary," Nick said. "I just need some time to convince my family that Arras is the one for me."

"Who's the alpha of this pack?" Arras asked, hoping it was the one they were seeking.

"I need to verify you are who you say you are first."

Arras nodded and went to St Cyr. He laid down on the day bed, his legs off the bed and bared his neck.

Nick watched, his gut tightening as St Cyr moved his fingertips over Arras' neck, where his carotid artery was, then pressed his mouth against it. Nick heard the loud intake of breath from St Cyr, a gasp, almost, then St Cyr's fangs slid out. It was just a mere pinprick and St Cyr did not even suck on the wound but lapped up the two tiny drops of blood.

That was it? Nick frowned. Just a pinprick? And why? What the hell was that in aid of?

"My Lord Vartanian," St Cyr said, going down on his knees, head bowed. "It is an honor. Tell me what you would like me to do." St Cyr's voice had lost its earlier skeptical tone and was reverent now. Nick was impressed. Almost.

"I've heard there's a group of weres that have joined up with vampires, they might be what Nick and I are looking for," Arras replied.

St Cyr shook his head slightly. "With utmost respect, my Lord, they are troublemakers. Rabble-rousers. The vampires there are outcasts of the lowest kind. And you know what they say about birds of a feather. If you are thinking of finding a refuge there, you probably will but you won't be comfortable."

"Let me be the judge of that," Arras said.

St Cyr inclined his head. "As you wish. Canaan Barthélémy. He's the vampire whose home the members congregate but I do not know if he is the leader. The wolf shifter is a renegade. I don't know his name but apparently he's not someone to mess with."

"Why did they get together?" Arras asked. "Is Barthélémy bonded to a wolf shifter? Is that why they are isolated?"

"No, not that I have heard. But the talk is just rumors whispered very sparingly. Barthélémy is a dangerous man and even then he is rumored to answer to one more ruthless. Nobody talks about them. Some shifter law enforcement officers have asked questions but no one knows. Or talks. I would not be telling you if not for who you are."

"So why is there a group? How many? You think they will not accept Nick and me?" Arras added the last question to keep St Cyr thinking he and Nick were seeking refuge and nothing else.

"As I said, they are trouble. I've heard killings attributed to them but so far no one has dared point a finger outright. I have seen them with my own eyes so I know."

"You witnessed them killing someone?" Nick asked sharply.

"Not the way you're thinking," St Cyr smiled. "My spirit eyes. I don't know what their agenda is but I know, from what I've seen, that they are evil. Do not speak of this when you leave. Barthélémy would be a formidable enemy even with my powers."

"You will be safe. I promise," Arras assured him. "Tell me where I can find him."

St Cyr gave them directions then said, as Arras and Nick left his suite, "There is great danger ahead. And great change, but now is not yet for you and your mate. He will be a target so guard him well."

Arras gave St Cyr a penetrating look but decided now wasn't the time to ask about Nick.

"Wait," Nick said, as they were about to leave the shop. "Gotta get a box of those strawberry cupcakes."

 

\------------

**TBC**

\------------


	32. PART FOUR: REUNION - CHAPTER 32

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Operation Blood Moon is almost finished - I only have the Epilogue to write. Current wordcount is 100,555 words (35 out of 36 chapters completed) and I envisage the final chapter (Epilogue) to be 1000-2000 words only.
> 
> I will upload everything as fast as I can proof-read and edit but the whole story should be up by middle of next week.

PART FOUR - CHAPTER 32

**REUNION**

 

 

_**Meanwhile,** _

_**Stillwater, PA** _

"How have you been, Dad?" Gibbs asked, entering the house he grew up in. He'd asked Jackson several times to move in with him but the old man had been adamant about staying put.

"I'm...doing well." Jackson replied a little hesitantly.

Gibbs frowned at his father's tone. When he'd opened the door Jackson had greeted his son by his title - Alpha-Rex Jethro. Gibbs had had to tell him he was there as Jackson's son, and that he wasn't the alpha-rex yet.

"You said on the phone you wanted to talk to me," Jackson said, relaxing. "What about?"

"Mom," Gibbs replied.

"What about her?" Jackson looked puzzled.

"Do you know if she's dead or alive? Her whereabouts are listed as unknown, as is her status," Gibbs said, referring to the shifter database where shifter births, deaths and other basic information were stored and kept updated by cross-referencing national archives worldwide.

Jackson sighed and looked as if he wasn't going to answer.

Tony and Jonas sat flanking Gibbs while the rest of the security detail patrolled the surrounding areas. It was only a few days to September 27 and while the killings seemed to have stopped, they were on full alert. The fire at Gibbs' house had been confirmed as arson but they didn't expect there to be a repeat since the bait hadn't worked. Nevertheless, Gibbs' neighbors weren't happy and had been calling NCIS to leave messages about concerns for their safety and what Jethro was doing about it.

Gibbs promptly called the neighbors and told them he was selling the house and moving out. The next day, a For Sale sign was installed. Gibbs had no idea where he was moving to and didn't much care. After September 27, everything would change and he'd wait and see.

"Your mother hasn't contacted me at all, Leroy," Jackson replied. "I would have told you if she had."

"You told me she left us. Did you ask her family whether they knew where she was? She's a shifter, whether she liked it or not. She wouldn't have left me, or her family. You know that."

"Of course I asked her parents," Jackson said, angrily. "They weren't happy about your mother and I dating in the first place. When..." he broke off.

"When what?" Gibbs prompted.

There was another sigh from Jackson before he continued. "Your mother was seventeen when she told me she was pregnant.  We went to see her parents. They thought I wasn't good enough for their daughter but - well, we had to get married. Or else. That was clear. But your mother didn't want to get married. We made a mistake and now she was pregnant and she didn't know what else to do. Hell, son, she was seventeen and I was eighteen. Your mom wanted a career. She wanted to go to college, move to a big city, travel the world. And because of one drunken evening, that wasn't going to be possible. If we didn't get married, her family wouldn't be able to live with the shame and me? I'd be dead.

"So we got married and your mom cried all the way to the altar. Then she cried on our wedding night and refused to let me touch her. It was a mess, alright. But this was the early 60s in Stillwater. Equivalent to the 40s, really. Girls got married at eighteen and raised more kids."

"Why wasn't mom happy to marry you? I mean, she slept with you," Gibbs said.

"Like I said, it was a mistake. We went out to our usual spot at Fishing Creek with some friends. One of them had brought beer. More than beer. We got tipsy." Jackson gave his son a look and added, "That's all I need to say."

_Whew._ Jonas sucked in a breath he didn't realize he was holding. He didn't particularly want to hear the details of someone's parents having sex. Not even Jethro's.

"The short of it is that your mother and I weren't in love. We married because we had to and your mom's problem over her being a shifter was bigger than anything else."

_Bigger than being pregnant_? Gibbs wanted to ask but didn't. "She was only seventeen, Dad. Eighteen when I was born. Then she had to deal with shifting in the same year. And don't forget the depression."

Jackson shook his head slowly. "She didn't do well on the meds either. I think they made her worse. Psychotic, at times. When she shifted and went berserk, I was so afraid she'd kill herself. I was going to have her hospitalized but your mother ran away before I could have her admitted."

"And no one could find her?"

"No. Remember she had several hours head start. I didn't discover she was missing until I heard you crying the next morning. She was long gone by then. Going by the note, she'd planned to leave sometime ago. It wasn't a spur of the moment decision."

"I think it was," Gibbs said, disagreeing. "If she'd planned to leave she would have left a note with her mother. Mom wouldn't have just left a six-month old baby with you or run away without telling her own mom."

But Jackson wasn't convinced. "You just said to remember she was depressed, Leroy. If she weren't, I would find it hard to believe but I saw how she was before and after your birth. It wasn't just post-natal depression. It was ante-natal, too, except back in those days we weren't aware of such things. I know, too, that it wasn't the first time she'd run off."

"She'd done that before?"

"Just for a day, sometimes an afternoon. Never overnight."

"You mean she'd run away more than once?" Gibbs frowned.

Jackson huffed. "Did it once a month. Drove her parents up the wall." After a pause, he added, "Don't blame your mother. She wasn't well. Psychologically."

"I don't blame her, Dad. I just want to understand. I sense there's more to me but I can't put a finger on it. There're going to be changes once I'm alpha-rex and I'd like to manage those changes. I am not going to allow the rest of my life to be dictated by my obligations. I'd give up the throne than let that happen. I won't let anything come between my life-mates and me. _They_ are my priority."

Jackson nodded. "I can't say I understand your choice of life-mates but they're yours and they are part of you. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you anything more about your mother. I wish I knew what's happened to her but I don't and we -" the phone rang, cutting Jackson off. He rose to answer it.

"It's for you." Jackson held the phone out to Gibbs who took it, wondering who it was calling him here.

"Leroy?" the soft feminine voice said.

"Yeah, who is this?"

"It's...your mother. I'm your mother."

o     o     o

 

"Your _mother_?" All three men said in unison when Gibbs told them.

"Yes, she's here in DC to see me," Gibbs said. He turned to Jackson. "I'm sending someone to pick her up. She's staying at the Four Seasons. Let's go." When his father made no move to follow, he asked, "Aren't you coming?"

"Leroy, I think it's best you go talk to her first. It's been fifty years. Things would have changed a lot for your mother, if you know what I mean." Jackson glanced at Tony and Jonas.

"Go wait for me outside," Gibbs said to Tony and Jonas. "I'll just be a minute."

"We'll be outside the door," Jonas said and both men stepped outside.

Gibbs pinned his eyes on his father, waiting for explanation.

"Leroy," Jackson began. "Hasn't it occurred to you that if your mother is alive she would have made a new life for herself?"

"You mean remarried?"

Jackson nodded.

"She wouldn't have done that - couldn't. Not unless she divorced you and -"

"I divorced your mother after she went MIA for ten years. By then, I thought it would make things simpler should we meet someone else. I didn't, but your mother would have. She was a very beautiful girl, son, and she would have married again because we weren't in love with each other. Remember that."

o     o     o

 

Gibbs left Jackson's house with Tony and Jason bursting with curiosity.

"Your _mother_?" Tony repeated. "After fifty years?" His malawere mind boggled at the thought of not seeing his mother for that long.

"What else did she say?" Jonas asked.

"Just that it's time we met," Gibbs replied.

"Huh," Tony huffed. "Talk about understatement of the millennium."

Gibbs merely smiled. He had wanted to go to her hotel but Ann had told him it was best he returned to the safe house and send someone else to pick her up.

"What did she say when you asked her how she knew you were at your father's house?" Jonas asked.

"And how did she know about the safe house?" Tony asked.

"She said she'll tell me everything when I see her."

o     o     o

 

_**Back at Tony's suite;** _

_**Task Force Facility;** _

Ann Jackson was tall and slender with auburn hair, hazel eyes and a regal bearing. She wasn't anything like what Gibbs had envisaged her to be. Not for someone who had been married to his father, for what little time that was. Jackson was a homebody and hated leaving his home town. He had a close-knit group of shifters that he hung out with on a daily basis but even as a young man, Gibbs remembered his father wasn't fond of travelling. He'd been born a small town man and was happy to die one.

By contrast, the elegant woman in front of him looked like she'd never set foot in a small town. Ann Gibbs was dressed in a white calf-length sleeveless dress with a white wrap around her upper arms. A short necklace of intertwined pearls from marble-sized to tiny ones circled her neck. Gibbs noted that she was fingering the pearls. Nerves. She would be in her late sixties now but looked half her age. Even her hands and arms were smooth and youthful-looking.

For a moment mother and son stared at each other. Tony and Jonas exchanged sidelong looks. Whatever they imagined Jethro's mother to look like, it wasn't this sophisticated lady who looked more like an auburn-haired Grace Kelly straight off the pages of some European magazine.

Gibbs searched his mother's eyes. Saw the uncertainty. "Hi." He didn't know what else to say.

And Ann held out her arms to her son, closing the gap. Gibbs stiffened but accepted his mother's embrace. His mother must have felt his hesitation and released him quickly. "Let's talk. I owe you one hell of an explanation." She pulled her son by his hand, leading him to the sofa.

"We'll see you later," Tony said, as he and Jonas stood, ready to leave.

"Stay." Gibbs' order was firm. "Please," he added. "I'd like you to." He turned to Ann, "Mom, Tony and Jonas are my life-mates. You've met Tony and this is Jonas. Whatever you have to say, I would like them to hear, too."

Ann shook Jonas' hand. Tony bent and kissed hers and invited her to be seated. She sat next to Gibbs on the sofa.

This was going to be one helluva story, Tony thought, going to the sideboard and returning with a bowl of popcorn. Coffee and tea was already on the table and he poured a cup of tea for Ann, and coffee for Gibbs. An ankle over his other knee, Tony settled back in the armchair with his bowl of popcorn to listen to Ann Gibbs' story. Jonas chose to stand by the window, his ever-watchful eyes searching the grounds and the sky.

 

\-----------------

**TBC**

\-----------------


	33. PART FOUR: REUNION - CHAPTER 33

 

PART FOUR - CHAPTER 33

 

 

_**==============** _

__ _**FLASHBACK** _

_** _**Fifty Years Ago** _ ** _

_**_**==============** _ ** _

__

 

She ran. She didn’t know where she was going but it didn’t matter. All that did was that she needed to get away. Just for awhile. She just needed a breather for a few hours.

She’d been telling her parents the last couple of years but they wouldn’t listen. Told her she would grow out of it, that she would come to accept her true nature, come to love being a shifter. When she hadn’t outgrown it, they’d made her go through some kind of shifter rehab program for problem shifter teens. It didn’t work and they let her go, labelled as incorrigible.

She’d left a note for Jackson. Poor Jackson. What a mess she’d made by not stopping him when it looked like their petting was getting out of hand. Jackson was a good person. She knew that but she wanted more out of life than what Stillwater could ever offer her. She’d talked about her dreams with Jackson. Her desire to travel to distant lands, meet different people. Jackson couldn’t understand what drove her to want this so much; to want to live in another country. Jackson couldn’t understand why anyone would live in a country where people didn’t speak English. It didn’t make sense to him.

Despite their diverse dreams, they had fun hanging out. Jackson wanted to be a pilot, and Ann had pointed out that Navy pilots had to fly to other countries where English wasn’t the first language. Sex wasn’t supposed to happen but she was seventeen, curious, and he was eighteen and horny. That night, both had been tipsier than they had any right to be.

Then there was the shifting business. Whatever she’d thought shifting would be like, it was worse than what she imagined. Even though shifter children attended shifter camps, they were never told they were shifters. They were only taught about the existence of shifters and vampires as id they were just another species of exotic animal. They were taught that some people did not even believe in them the way they did not believe the earth was round and not flat back in the ancient days.

Shifter children were to be brought up aware of the existence of shifters but were to be left to find out for themselves they were shifters only when they shifted at age eighteen. Her parents had gone against tradition and rules and had told her she could be a shifter when she was sixteen and her best friend had told her she saw her brother shifting one afternoon in his bedroom and how terrible it looked, how she’d run screaming. She guessed her parents wanted to prepare her by telling her early but instead of helping, it had caused her to live in dread. She hoped that she would take after her human father and not her shifter mother but shifter genes were strong and rarely did a mixed pairing produce non-shifter offspring.

Her day had come upon her like a tropical downpour – sudden and powerful – and it had sent her insane with horror. She’d slammed herself against the walls, sending pictures crashing to the floor, overturning the dining table and a vase then running out to the street and standing in the middle of the road panting away. Jackson had hauled her back into the house before she could go any further, thankful that no one was outside though it would have been hard to see her, Stillwater being shrouded in darkness after sundown.

Throughout the week, she’d shifted several times a day and each shifting filled her with renewed horror. She couldn’t stop crying. She cried even when she was feeding Leroy. Why did she bring this baby into this world? All she saw on the news were people getting killed; her friend in school had died last year after a drunk driver had ploughed into the group of kids crossing the road. That was what her mom had told her. Therese, her friend, had been visiting rellies in Pittsburgh. Stillwater’s population struggling to stay above 300 back then, and was now less three people – after Therese died, her parents divorced and left Stillwater.

She listened to talk about the secretive world the shifters were forced to live in and knew this was not the way she wanted her son to live. She loved Jethro and even though she regretted marrying Jackson, she couldn’t bring herself to regret her baby. Jackson deserved someone who would love him and be a good shifter wife.

She felt trapped. Because no matter where she went she would still be a shifter. She wanted to be human. Fully human. Not this half-wolf creature that would, one day, be hunted down and become extinct.

The desirte to be free warred constantly with her need for family. Home and family was ingrained in a shifter. Even shifters who ended up divorcing – usually those who hadn’t completed their bonding ritual – never abandoned their families.

So while she’d run like she always did when she felt the grey cloud descending and pressing on her, it was merely to clear her head. She’d be home before Leroy’s next feeding.

Only this time she never made it back home again.

 

o     o     o

_**Near Stillwater, PA** _

Markus Hohenlohe von Furstenburg wanted to get back to Long Island. Back to London, actually. He’d spent enough time in the US and it was time to report in, time to tell his handler his mission was accomplished and he wanted to turn his attention back to his family companies.

Like all modern-day vampires, Markus went about his business like any ordinary human and resorted to his vampire powers only when utterly necessary. Which was why he was driving along this country road in the middle of nowhere, Pennsylvania. His intel had led him to a remote farmhouse where the terrorist had been hiding out. The job had been quick and easy, compared to their earlier attempts to apprehend Nikita Bulganin, one of the deadliest spies in Europe, responsible for the deaths of several CIA and MI5 agents during the Cold War. In a rare joint-mission with British and US agents, Markus and his fellow-agent, had tracked Nikita to the US.

Markus had found Nikita in the farmhouse before the CIA operatives had arrived, pumped two shots in her head and just like that, Europe was free of one more criminal. Ten would probably take her place but that would be someone else’s problem. He’d given three decades – a blip in vampire years, of course – to his country and its allies and he wanted a break. A few decades would do. Then, depending how how he felt, he might re-enter the murky world of espionage.

He was happily cruising down the dark country road, unhampered by the lack of street lighting since vampires could see perfectly well at night, when a creature bounded across the road from out of nowhere, directly in front of his car.

Catching Markus by surprised, he slammed on the brakes but it was too late. The creature, a deer, he thought, crashed against the car and onto his windshield before bouncing off onto the road.

Markus sucked in a breath then quickly got out of his car. He had to get the animal off the road before another vehicle ran into it. He hurried to the heap on the road, instantly seeing it wasn’t a deer after all.

It was a wolf. A grey wolf, bleeding from its snout. Markus’s eyes scanned the rest of the wolf’s body, checking for bleeding from other parts. There was more blood covering the wolf’s coat but he scooped the animal up in his arms, not wanting to drag it and cause more injury. He was just about to lay it down on the side of the road when it stirred in his arms, quivered and wriggled like a fish and jumped out of his hold. It was too badly hurt to run off but lay on the roadside, its breathing labored.

Markus wondered where the rest of its pack was. Or was this a lone wolf? He was about to carry it deeper into the woods when the animal jerked then gave a painfilled cry that sounded like a howl and a scream. A semi-human scream. Markus recognized that scream.

“Damn,” he muttered. “I’ve hit a wolf shifter.” His instinct was to leave the wolf there, guessing it would heal in time but Markus was one of those rare vampires warriors who never killed unnecessarily, who had a conscience and was capable of compassion. Unless you were a terrorist.

He decided he’d take the wolf back to his house then wondered if it was too badly injured to make the five-hour journey to New York. He didn’t take long to decide. If the animal died out here, it was okay but if it didn’t, it could be found in the morning and taken to a wolf sanctuary. Which was fine, if you were a regular wolf and Markus knew this was no normal wolf. He, or _she_ , rather, would end up with more problems if it shifted in the midst of humans.

Markus scooped the wolf up again and carried it to his car, depositing it carefully in the back.

He kept an eye on the back through his rearview mirror but the wolf lay quiet, its labored breathing worrying Markus. Going as fast as he reasonably could, Markus and his unconscious passenger arrived at their two-story townhouse on 234th Street next to the Woodlawn Cemetery, shortly before sunrise. His aide, Karel, was waiting for him as the car entered the private driveway next to the house and stopped at the side entrance.

“I have an injured passenger,” Markus told him, getting out of the car.

Karel opened the back passenger door and saw the wolf laying on its side. “What happened?” Markus told him quickly as they lifted the wolf and Karel carried it inside the house.

“A shifter?” Karel said, one brow lifting. “Really, Markus. What next? Well, we can’t take it to a vet and we won’t be able to get a shifter doctor out here in time. From its breathing and blood flow, it’s not going to last much longer.”

“I know,” Markus said, pressing his mouth against the wolf’s neck, rooting for its carotid artery. “An hour, at most,” he added, lifting his head up. “Internal injuries.” Vampires were able to measure the creature’s blood pressure by placing their finger or tongue against a pulse point. Usually, this was for feeding purposes but it was useful for gauging the state of a creature – whether it was close to death or was healing.

This creature would be dead in thirty minutes or less. They would just have to bury it in the garden. Both men turned to go when the animal gave a small howl, a soft, plaintive sound. Markus and Karel stopped in their tracks and turned around just as the wolf trembled and shifted.

Both men rushed back to her. A girl! No more than seventeen or eighteen, with long auburn hair and pale, flawless skin. Her breathing was shallow and blood was drying on her nostrils. Her naked body bore the injuries sustained from the accident and more blood smeared her body.

“ _Now_ we have to call a doctor,” Karel said grumpily. “Her blood pressure is dangerously low and she’s already gone into shock.”

“It’ll take Ruben at least two hours to get here from Manhattan,” Markus said. “It’ll be too late.”

Karel gave Markus a long, meaningful look. “Are you sure? Consider the consequences, my friend. There’s no turning back.”

o     o     o

**_Anna paused here and picked up her cup of tea. Jethro, Tony and Jonas were watching and listening with rapt attention and she hadn't even finished her account. She thought about what Markus had done to save her but decided not to reveal it to her son just yet. Not until she finished telling everything else._ **

o     o     o

Her eyes fluttered open, her mind still dazed from the accident. Where was she? Was she dead? Voices speaking softly penetrated her mental haze.

“How do you feel?” a man asked.

She looked at him. “Who are you?”

“Markus, and this is my friend and aide, Karel.”

“How do you do,” Karel said from the other side of the bed. “How are you feeling? A little dazed, no doubt.”

“Where am I? What happened?”

“You were in an accident,” Markus said. “My car hit you when you ran out in front of it and I wasn’t able to stop in time. Who are you? What’s your name?”

“I – I…don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?” Markus asked.

“I don’t know.” She repeated.

“Where were you coming from when my car hit you?”

“D-don’t know.” Fear filled her eyes as she realized she didn’t know anything. Not her name, not where she was from. Her mind was a complete blank. “I don’t know anything! What’s wrong with me?”

Karel groaned. Just what they needed. An amnesiac wolf shifter who they’d turned. As if vampire and shifter relations were not at at all-time low already. If the shifters found out a vampire had killed one of theirs – and a young, pretty female shifter, there’d be all-out war.

Karel had been friends with Markus since they were in diapers, only one month between their births. Both had joined the German Foreign Intelligence Agency, known in the US by its CIA code name, CASCOPE, and used their family names and connections to operate their clandestine operations.

Fiercely loyal to each other, the two men were, nevertheless, vastly different in temperament. Where Karel was cool, almost cold, Markus was cool only under fire. At other times, he was warm and jovial with a soft spot for animals and children. And, it seems, for pretty young girls. Karel, on the other hand, was a cynical rake who could – and had – put a bullet between the pleading blue eyes of a beautiful lover without hesitation.

Now, as he gazed down at the stranger on Markus’ bed, he wondered if he ought to have shot her instead of letting his friend turn her.

“You cannot recall anything?” Karel asked her. She shook her head.

“We’ll have to give you a name,” Markus said. “We’ll call you…” he thought of the first letter of the alphabet. “Annalise. Until you recover your memory.”

Annalise didn’t say anything.

“I will have a room prepared for you,” Karel said. “Since you can’t tell me who you are, you can stay here with us for now –”

“Just for now,” Markus said. “We may have to call the police and ask if they have any alerts out for a missing –”

“What…what is that?” Annalise looked frightened, pulling the covers up to her neck.

“What do you mean ‘what is that’?” Markus asked.

“What is ‘police’?”

o     o     o

 

Annalise, it turned out, couldn’t remember anything. Not just who she was but everything about Life. It was as if she were a newborn baby in a teenager’s body. Markus was intrigued. Enthralled. Karel was terrified. He and Markus had shouting matches. Markus wanted to call the police but Karel disagreed.

“First of all,” Karel said, running his fingers through his dark hair. “We aren’t even supposed to be here.”

“But we are,” Markus argued.

“We’re supposed to be flying back to London tomorrow! Our job is done. You know the CIA gets nervous when people like us hang around long after the job is over. Let’s not overstay our welcome. You’re supposed to resign and return to Berlin. What the hell are you doing playing nursemaid to a girl? If this got out, it will set us back another hundred years, never mind explaining it to the CIA.” Karel paced around the living room of the house they’d rented for their visit.

“I can’t leave her here,” Markus said. “Not when she can’t remember anything. Not her name, not anything about her family. Karel, she can’t remember how to _do_ anything. She had to be taught how to use the bathroom, the toilet! She doesn’t know what to make of the things she sees on tv. She has no idea where or what the US is. If she weren’t a wolf shifter, I would have called the police but as you say, there is no way those rednecks are going to listen to my explanation. They hate vampires as it is, and you know how those wolf shifters are – kill first, talk later.” He saw Karel’s expression and added, “Yes, yes, I know. They can’t kill us that easily but you know what I mean. Count Mordran would send me into exile if I got into another squabble with wolf shifters.”

“Not just you, my friend. I have no wish to live in Siberia.”

“Then we keep quiet about Annalise. Once her memories return, we can tell her what happened.”

“And tell her she was a wolf but now she’s a vampire?” Karel asked. “I’m sure she will be thrilled.

“Your sarcasm is neither helpful nor appreciated. Now, make yourself useful or be quiet.”

“Useful?”

“Yes, call Edelmann and procure a passport for Annalise. A US passport so she can return home, eventually.”

“Oh no,” Karel said, shaking his head. “You are not taking her back to Germany with us.”

“Do you have a better idea?” Markus asked. “Other than abandoning her here?”

“Damn,” Karel muttered, and strode off to make arrangements for Annalise’s fake passport. Edelmann would be able to get it one done in forty-eight hours but it would cost them. Karel was certain Markus would sell one of his prized Arabians to get Annalise a passport. That the girl would have to be fifteen years younger than Markus didn’t seem to have occurred to him. Karel sighed. He hoped when _he_ fell in love – if he ever did – he wouldn’t be such a fool.

Annalise never did leave Germany, or Markus. Nor did she recover her memory. For the next fifty years, she continued to live in Germany, sharing Markus' home with Karel, all three having their private suites in Markus' sprawling house in Berlin.

 

 

_**==============** _

_**END OF** _ _**FLASHBACK** _

_**_**==============** _ ** _

****

 

 "Now, you want to know how I found out I have a son if I lost my entire memory and still haven't regained it," Ann said, after she finished recounting the last five decades of her life.

"That would be my first question, yeah." Gibbs was still trying to absorb the fantastical story he'd just heard.

"Do you know this man they call The Seer?"

Gibbs muttered an expletive under his breath.

"I am sorry?" Ann said, in her German-accented English. "I did not catch that."

"Nothing," Gibbs said. "Yes, I've met him. Once."

"He called me yesterday and asked to meet with me."

"You were in the US already?"

"No, I only arrived an hour before I called you. The Seer contacted me a week ago in Germany. He told me it's time for me to know who I am and asked me to see him in Costa Rica."

"Costa Rica?" Tony said, both he and Jonas practically buzzing with curiosity. Gibbs had never talked about his family and all they knew was that his father was still alive. That his mother had turned up out of the blue - and married to someone else - was a complication Jethro would not be pleased to have.

"He said there's a World Surfing Competition on there and he'd be there so Markus and I flew to meet him in San José." Ann paused to take a breath. "This is all very overwhelming for me. I'm not exaggerating when I say I'm still in shock."

"Forget about the Seer for now," Gibbs snapped. "You're seriously telling me you can't remember a single thing in the last fifty years since you ran away?"

Ann shook her head. "No, not in the last fifty years. I remember nothing since I was a toddler, Leroy. As I told you, I had to be taught everything. From reading and writing to mundane things like getting dressed. It took years. Markus put in special rehab clinics, got me the best specialists, all to no avail. He hired a private tutor that worked with cases like mine - stroke patients, accident victims and the like. I suffered a rare retrograde amnesia that wiped out my entire life memory. It took me years to adjust to life again." She paused, then said. "When I met the Seer and he told me I had a son, I automatically asked who the father was. And whether that man was my husband. When I was told you were already fifty, I was stunned! That meant I had just given birth to you when the accident happened." There was another pause, then she asked, "Where is your father?"

"At home. He thought it was better you and I talked first," Gibbs replied.

"Well, we do have a bit of a problem, don't we? Markus and I."

"Markus?"

"My husband. Markus and I got married about twelve years after we ran into each other. Literally. Our relationship developed slowly. We were more guardian and ward, initially, then as I got older, we became friends though Markus is fifteen years older than me. It was only when I was about twenty-nine that our friendship became something more."

Tony paused popping the popcorn in his mouth.

"We got married a year later. That would be thirty-eight years ago."

"Are you happy with Markus?" Gibbs asked.

"I couldn't be happier...Jethro, I d-don't know your father. You understand?"

"I understand. Not at all of it but you getting married again - I can understand that even though it didn't occur to me when you called me. It was my father who warned me you could be married to someone else by now. That's why he's not here. He thought it was better you and I talk first."

"That was very perceptive of him," Ann said. "And sensitive."

"Where's Markus?"

"Back at the hotel. Same reason as your father. He thought your father - Jackson, I was told his name is - might have remarried, too."

"So you have absolutely no recollection of the last fifty years since you left my father and your six month old baby?"

"I do not remember _any_ thing, I told you."

"Sorry," Gibbs said. "Ive never heard of anyone completely forgetting everything, even the basic things about living. It's...strange."

"Tell me about it," Ann smiled. "But unlike a baby, amnesiacs like me - yes, there have been others - do learn quickly since we don't have to contend with motor skills, just mental ones. But yes, when I regained consciousness, it was as if I had just been born. I had no idea about anything."

"Okay," Gibbs said. "Leave that for a moment. Why did the Seer tell you about me? Why now?" _How many times was he going to ask that question._

"He said you are going to be our alpha-rex and it would not do for everyone to continue believing your mother abandoned you."

" _Our_ alpha-rex? So you don't have a problem being a shifter anymore?"

"I had no recollection of that. Not until I met the Seer yesterday." Ann paused. "But I have told you what happened to me. Please...tell me about you."

Gibbs filled his mother in on the events prior to her running away and saw her surprise on hearing how much she hated being a shifter.

"Do you still hate being a shifter?" Gibbs asked.

"Leroy," Ann looked at her son for a long while, then said, "I am not a shifter. Not anymore, I mean. Markus is a vampire. He had to turn me to save my life. I was minutes from death and he had to make a decision, right or wrong."

Tony's jaw dropped and the bowl of popcorn fell from his hands with a clatter and he hurriedly scooped them off the carpet. "Sorry," he muttered.

"You're a vampire," Gibbs said, as if he couldn't believe it. "You're no longer a shifter."

"No, I'm not. Once you're turned, you become a vampire and lose your shifter."

Gibbs gave a huff. "That worked out well for you, didn't it?"

A pink flush tinged Ann's cheeks. "Leroy..."

Gibbs waved it off. "I'm sorry. That came out wrong. Did the Seer tell you why you ran away?"

"A little."

"That you couldn't bear being a shifter? Didn't want to bring up a shifter baby?"

"Yes," Ann's reply was a whisper.

"I'm glad you told me what happened. It explains your disappearance though I still don't buy the Seer waiting this many years for me to find out! Why couldn't I have been told when I shifted? Or did he think I was already thirty and I could wait twenty more years? Just what is the fu- big secret?"

Anna expelled a soft breath. "I asked the Seer the same thing. Why didn't he tell me before I married Markus that I already had a husband? Why didn't he tell me who I was?"

"Bet he told you he was too busy catching a wave to talk to you, right?" Gibbs said.

"He told me your entire life has been kept very secure and private - even to yourself. _Especially_ to yourself, actually. He said people have a tendency to meddle and try to control things if they knew the future and they always ended up making a bigger mess."

"It's _my_ life and I can't control it?" Gibbs made a disgusted face.

"Apparently not," Ann replied. "Because of your destiny. He would only tell me it won't be long and everything will come together." She rose. "I have taken up your entire afternoon. I must get back to Markus. We have to resolve this problem of my bigamy."

"No bigamy," Gibbs said. "My father filed for divorce ten years after you left. He figured you were never coming back. You only remarried twelve years later so you were divorced already."

"I see," Ann said quietly. "Well, I must be going. I will call your father after I speak to Markus."

Gibbs nodded and accompanied his mother down to the front door. "Zolar will take you back to your hotel." When Ann turned, he leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. "It's good to see you are well," Gibbs said. "I appreciate your coming and telling me what happened.

"Then I hope we can try to make up for the last fifty years. See each other once in a while."

"Maybe," Gibbs replied, his face back to an uncompromising mask.

As soon as his mother left and the door closed, Gibbs gave a bellow, startling both Jonas and Tony, "That FUCKIN' Seer! I'm going to send him to Mongolia when I'm king!"

 

==============================================

Severe Retrograde Amnesia: 48 year-old man who lost 46 years of his life and will never regain his memory.

Link: <http://abcnews.go.com/Health/football-player-scott-bolzans-life-deleted-irreversible-amnesia/story?id=14616045>

Link:<http://www.phoenixmag.com/Valley-News/amnesia-sufferer-scott-bolzan.html>

 

* * *


	34. PART FOUR: REUNION - CHAPTER 34

PART FOUR - CHAPTER 34

**REUNION**

 

 

_**New Orleans** _

"You sure you want to eat those cupcakes?" Dwayne asked, eyeing Nick just as he was about bite into the cake.

"Why not?" Nick paused, looking at Dwayne.

"It's from that vampire shop, Vamp It Up." Dwayne nodded at the box with the shop's name on it."

"Yeah, so?"

"The red stuff," Dwayne pointed with the red jelly topping. "It's not strawberry, you know."

"What is it, then? Raspberry? I don't mind. Prefer strawberry though."

"It's made from plasma and blood from a placenta."

Nick froze, then threw the cupcake on the kitchen counter as if it was re-hot coal. He stared at Dwayne. "You're kidding!"

"Nope. It's a very popular snack and Vamp It Up makes the real thing. There are shops that use strawberry jam but not Vamp It Up. You need to be a local and a vampire to know that. Or have vampire friends."

"Fuck." Nick scowled at the box of cakes, then his face brightened. "Can you freeze them for me? I know someone who'll love them."

Dwayne eyed him for a second then said, "That is cruel. Not to mention juvenile. I thought it was only Tony who was into baiting the poor man. What have you two got against him?"

Nick shrugged. "Nothing. McGee's just one of those guys you can't resist teasing."

"You ready to move?" Arras asked, coming into their apartment's small kitchen. "I managed to get in touch with Canaan Barthélémy. He's expecting us so let's move."

"Call me when you're done," Dwayne said.

 o     o     o

 

"Nakharaz Vartanian, what a surprise," Barthélémy said, entering his living room where Arras and Nick were waiting. Barthélémy nodded to the two guards and they silently left, shutting the door after them.

Barthélémy's house was really an old barge deep in the Bayou surrounded by the usual bayou flora and music of the fauna. It was large, parts of it connected to the land while most was on the water. Nick guessed parts of it was added to the barge after Katrina drove it to the shore, resulting in the ramshackle structure being neither boat nor house. "What brings such a distinguished gentleman to my humble abode?"

Once again, Arras recounted to Barthélémy what he'd told St Cyr.

"I'd greatly appreciate it if you would grant us some sanctuary," Nick said. "I just want some time to talk to my family. I'm sure they'll come round to the idea, but it will take time."

"And what, exactly, do you think I can do to help?" Barthélémy asked.

"We hear your home is a safe place for others in similar situations, that is, on the run from the shifter authorities," Nick replied. "The misfits and disenchanted. We hear you are respected amongst the shifters as well as the vampires."

"If you would give us your protection," Arras added. "It will enable us to remain here for awhile without fearing for our lives. Nick's, anyway. As you can imagine, I feel very protective towards him. He is sacrificing much to be with me."

"You are welcome to stay with me for a while," Barthélémy offered. "Where are you staying now?"

Arras told him and Barthélémy nodded. "It's safe enough," Arras added. "So we do not need a place to stay. What we need is a pack for Nick. He feels isolated and it makes him stressed. If you can introduce us to some shifters and vampires who can empathize with our situation, it will ease my mind a lot. As a vampire, I do not need a community or a family to thrive. Not Nick."

Barthélémy nodded. "I understand."

"Thank you," Nick said, smiling. "It's been hard on us on the run."

"Which pack are you from?" Barthélémy asked Nick.

"California."

"Your alpha?"

"G. Callen." _Stick as close to the truth when you can_ , was Nick's policy. If Barthélémy checked, Callen would verify it.

"Join us tonight," Barthélémy said. "We are having a special ceremony, a ritual to welcome some new members. I will speak to the leaders and recommend that you be accepted. I am confident someone with your pedigree will be a welcome addition."

"Who are your leaders?" Arras asked.

"Andre Lescroart and Pierre Chamboutin."

"I have heard talk of other rogue packs in the North," Nick said. "I want to move up there. Maine, preferably. Or Maryland. Are Lescroart and Chamboutin leaders of all the rogue members? It would be easier if they were. Then we can seek permission to move up north."

Barthélémy shook his head. " _Non_. They are local. No one really knows who the leader of the revolution is."

"Revolution?" Arras asked. "I thought it was just small groups of shifters protesting against the high-handedness of the current alphas and the shifter police."

"No, it's not. It's bigger than that. But what would a man like you want to get mixed up with that?" Barthélémy asked. "You are a nakharaz. You already have all the privileges of the ruling class."

"I might ask the same of you," Arras countered. "You're a vampire. Why are you opening your home to those riff-raff?"

"I have my reasons," was all the other vampire said.

Nick listened to the two of them then said, "Arras was not being entirely truthful when he said I'm the one sacrificing for this relationship." Both vampires looked at him. "I may have been ousted from my pack and alienated from my family, but Arras is in danger of losing his title and inheritance. His family is against our union and believe in the old ways where vampires and shifters do not mix."

"It is why I want a change," Arras said. "I did not want to say more until I got a chance to meet the others."

"Come tonight. You can tell us what you are looking for. There just might be a fit for you..." Barthélémy glanced at Nick. "And your wolf shifter."

o     o     o

 

"I want to stop by the crime scene again," Arras said, when they left Barthélémy.

"Why?" Nick asked.

"I want to check the garden and exterior of the house."

The crime scene tape still cordoned off the property and everything appeared the same as it was yesterday when the killings were committed.

"Only the bodies have been removed," Nick said. "And the blood samples. What are we looking for outside? We already got the bloody pawprints and footprints.

"I'll know when I see it." Arras started searching the ground carefully as he circled the house. When he came to the bedroom where Gibbs had slept in, he looked up at the tall Magnolia tree next to the bedroom window then looked at the ground.

Nick watched him pick up the pellets and put them in an evidence bag. Arras picked up fallen leaves, sniffed them and put some in the bag.

"We need to get these analyzed," Arras said.

"Possum scat?" Nick asked.

" _Bat_. Vampire bat."

" _Vampire_ bat?" Nick frowned. "What's a vampire bat doing up here? They're not native to the US."

"Some are. The vampire bat shifters."

"Now, there's an oxymoron if there's one. They're neither here nor there. They aren't really accepted in the shifter community and I bet regular vampires look down on them, too."

"Technically, they're both shifter and vampire," Arras said. "They are shifters in that they can shift into humans, and they are vampires because they feed on the liquid blood from live animals, including humans. They're ‘neither here nor there' only because they are considered pariahs but vampire bat shifters do possess similar powers as regular vampires, you know."

"Like being one of the undead and to kill one you need to cut off its head or run it through the heart?"

"And only during an eclipse," Arras added.

"How will the scat help us identify the shifter? Vampire bats are not required to register with the shifter database."

"I won't need that. I'll track it by its scent. Come on, let's get back."

Nick drove while Arras took out the haul from the evidence bag and took long breaths of each item. Nick wasn't even going to ask what bat shit smelled like, curious as he was.

"Take the next turning on the right," Arras said, ten minutes later.

"That's to the airport."

"Yes. Head that way unless I tell you otherwise," Arras said. "I think he went to the airport."

"You can track him that far?" Nick asked, impressed.

When they reached the airport, Arras sniffed the air, turning three-sixty on his heels. "He's headed north."

"DC," Nick said.

"After Alpha Jethro." Arras nodded. "Let's call it in." He took out his cell phone.

"Raven," Jonas answered on the first ring. "What's up?"

"We made contact with someone who hosts the local rogue meeting," Arras said, bringing their CXO up to speed on New Orleans. "I've also got something else you need to be alerted on."

"What?"

"I found vampire bat scat on the ground outside the window. Nick said Jethro was in that bedroom."

"We were being watched?" Jonas thought of the threesome that night, of how he'd howled when both Jethro and Tony penetrated him and came inside him at the same time. It sent a shiver through him, hardening his cock instantly. "Where is he now?"

"I tracked him to the airport and he was heading north. My guess is he's located Jethro and the safe house."

"Then come back here. Now."

"We've got an invite to a ceremony tonight. The rogues will be there. We should turn up."

Jonas thought about that then said, "No, you already got the names of the leaders. Dwayne can track them down. We need you back here to track the vampire bat. It's the only way to identify him."

"Okay. I'll let you know the flight details once we're booked."

o     o     o

 

Jethro was subdued the rest of the afternoon. Both Tony and Jonas kept watch on him silently. No doubt pondering on the reappearance of his mother and the incredible story she had told them.

They'd give their right nut to know what their alpha was thinking now. The two men glanced at each other then looked at Jethro. He was sitting in front of the tv, staring at a black and white rerun even though Tony had every available channel on his system, including an extensive library of movies.

He pulled Jonas to him, kissed him, and said in his ear, "I can't believe his mother is a vampire. I mean, she was a _shifter_!"

"I know," Jonas whispered back. "Let's try and get him to talk."

Tony gave a soft snort but followed Jonas' lead. The two men went up to Gibbs and snuggled up to him. Gibbs put an arm around each of his mates and leaned his head back, eyes closed.

"I love you guys," he said softly. "I need you more than anything in this life. Once this is over, we're going somewhere away from everyone. I need some downtime with you both. Time to think about how I can juggle my duties with my need for you."

"I hear you," Jonas said, nuzzling Gibbs' neck. "I don't think it'll be difficult. We all work together. It's not like our human jobs where married couples can't work in the same department."

Gibbs didn't seem convinced, though.

"Hey," Tony said. "You're the team leader, aren't you? Back at NCIS? You have a team that goes out and does whatever you tell them to do; And if they go out and do something without you telling them it's because they already know what needs to be done, right?"

"Yeah," Gibbs replied, opening his eyes to look at Tony.

"So it's not going to be any different once you're the alpha-rex. You'll just have a bigger team of special agents. _Very_ special agents. Everyone of them an alpha. You'll just oversee things, like you do at NCIS, and Jonas and I will be your right-hand men."

"I can't be an alpha-rex and hold down a job at NCIS at the same time," Gibbs said.

"We can work that out later," Tony said. "For now, are you going to take up your mother's dinner invitation? Meet her husband?"

"I haven't decided." Gibbs sighed, turning his face towards Tony. "She's a vampire. A bloody vampire. She hated being a shifter and now she's a vampire. Does she like being one?" He wasn't sure how he'd feel if she told him she didn't mind being a vampire. "I don't know what my father's going to say."

"Their marriage was already over before it could begin," Jonas said. "Your father divorced her and I say he wouldn't have done that if he still wanted her to come back."

"He waited ten years. That's still a long time." Gibbs thought about Jackson and thought Jonas could be right. His father was one of those men who could be happy without a partner.

"Because he didn't have anyone else. Did he?" Jonas asked.

Gibbs shook his head. "No, Dad was content being on his own. He was happy enough meeting his friends every week, going down to Lewisburg with them once a month. Some of his retired friends got married not long after their wives died or they got divorced, but they still got together for their weekly card games or camping. I'm talking about his non-shifter friends. He had an even more active life in the shifter community."

"Then it doesn't sound like he'll be heartbroken to learn your mother's remarried."

"No, but he might be pissed that she's now a vampire and looks pretty happy about it."

o     o     o

 

"Jonas!Jonas!Jonas!" Abby rushed into the control room where the investigative team was bringing them all up to date. Gibbs turned round at Abby's interruption. "Oh, I mean Gibbs!Gibbs!Gibbs!"

"Yes, Abs," both Jonas and Gibbs said simultaneously.

Abby grinned. "Ooh, I like this."

"Abs."

Gibbs warning tone got through and Abby straightened, smile gone. "Okay. The bat scat Arras and Nick brought back from New Orleans? Guess who's it is." She held up both hands, palms out, bouncing on her heels. "You'll never guess who, Gibbs."

"Abby!"

"Okay, okay." She widened her eyes then said with a dramatic flourish of her hands, "Ari Haswari!"

"No shit," Mike said.

Before anyone else could respond, Arras strode in. "Jethro, I've tracked down whose scat it is."

"Ari Haswari's," Gibbs said.

"How did you know?" Arras asked, puzzled. "I just sent Abigail the photo." Abby slunk behind Tony but Arras had caught sight of her and narrowed his eyes.

 she held up her hand, peeking from behind Tony's shoulder. "It's Abby. Not Abigail."

"Looks like you beat me to the news update," Arras said. "Thanks, _Abigail_." He turned back to Gibbs. "I followed the scent and tracked him to his house. Snapped a picture of him and sent it to _Abigail_." He deliberately narrowed his eyes at her again. "I mean ‘Abby'." He winked at her. "And she said she didn't need to run it through any database. It appears Haswari is well-known to NCIS."

"Very," Gibbs said grimly.

"There's more," Arras said. "I followed him when he left his house and trailed him to this address." He waved the piece of paper. "I'll have McGee find out who lives there - where _is_ McGee?" he asked when the special agent was nowhere in sight.

"Throwing up in the head," Gibbs said. "Ate some bad cupcakes, apparently. Don't worry about the address. I know who lives there."

"Who?" All of them asked.

"A certain lawyer I know."

"Fuck, no," Mike Franks just about spat out. " Not M. Allison Hart. Hah!" He slapped his thigh and cackled. "Trust that bitch to be consorting with a bloodsucking bat."

"Hey." Nick got face to face with Mike. "We got vampire friends here, Franks."

"Alpha Mike to you, young man." Mike shot back.

"You're retired, and Callen's my alpha," Nick said.

"Stand down, Nick." Jax said. "Who is M. Allison Hart?"

"A lawyer I was seeing," Gibbs replied.

"Seeing, as in..." Tony said.

"I was sleeping with her, yeah. But that's been over for a while."

"I don't really want to know," McGee said, back from the restroom. "But I have to ask..." he took a deep breath then said, "Isn't Ari Haswari dead?"

"Obviously not," Arras said.

"Haswari was shot by my half-sister, NCIS special agent, Ziva David," Chai told Arras. "His body was flown back to Israel and was buried according to Jewish rites. As far as we know, his body is still there, but if it's not..."

"Then he's a vampire," Arras said. "Or, more accurately, a vampire bat. We have proof of this in the scat I collected."

"We need to find out what business he has with Hart," Tony said.

"You said your relationship with Hart is over," Jonas said to Gibbs. "Who ended it and why?"

"I did," Gibbs replied. "She was too persistent and...presumptuous."

"Presumptuous, how?" Tony asked.

"She'd turn up at my house and make herself at home when I wasn't there."

"How did she get in?" Jonas asked, frowning. "She had a key?"

Gibbs looked at him and smiled, noting the jealous note in Jonas' voice.

"No. Mike was the only one who's had a key."

"So why did you end it?" Tony asked. "This was way before we were reunited."

"I sensed something off about her but I put it down to my being uncomfortable with her possessiveness. She wanted me to give an account of everywhere I went, who I was with...you know the type."

"Is she a shifter?" Arras asked.

"No."

"Vampire?" Tony asked

"No." Gibbs paused. "Maybe. I don't know what a vampire feels like. I mean, shifters can't sense a vampire, and vice versa."

"But a vampire can sense another vampire," Arras pointed out. "Nick can tail Ms Hart, let me know where she is and I umm, run into her. Literally, perhaps. It'll be enough for me."

"But if she's a vampire, she'll know you're one, too," Nick pointed out.

"Only if he or she's a purebred," Arras said.

"If Hart turns out to be a purebred vampire, it can still work to our advantage," Jonas said. "Just put the moves on her," he said to Arras. "A hunk like you should have no trouble getting her between the sheets. Get her to spill."

"Done." Arras nodded then said to Nick, "Let's go bloodsucker hunting."

Nick scowled all the way to the vehicle until Arras demanded to know what was eating him. "Nothing," he muttered.

Arras chuckled. "You sound just like a spoilt girl." Nick growled. "I'm not going to fuck Hart, you know."

Nick snorted. "Like I care."

"No, of course you don't." Arras looked at Nick as they pulled out of the driveway. "You do know that purebred vampires can read emotions very accurately, don't you?"

"Shut up, Vartanian."

o     o     o

 

"Sarah, Jethro here."

"Hello, Jethro." SecNav sounded happy. "I hear you're settling down extremely well in your new role as alpha to your two life-mates. Who would have thought?"

"I was calling you about another matter but now that you mentioned it, it sounds as if you already knew about Jonas and Tony being my life-mates."

"No, I didn't."

"What about Kort?"

"Trent? Oh no, he didn't either. If anyone did know, it would be Dr. Mallard but I doubt it. No one knew about that, Jethro. We only knew about you having met Jonas and Tony when they were still in their teens but we did not know they were your destined life-mates. Remember when you met with the Joint Council last week?"

"Yeah."

"Remember you asked if the secrecy surrounding the identity of the prophesied alpha was the reason why Tony and Jonas were prevented from contacting you?"

"Yeah, you were afraid I'd bond with them before it was time."

"Yes, exactly. Now, if we knew you were already destined to be life-mates, we wouldn't have kept you from each other. But we didn't know that and with your father worrying you'd end up like your mother - wishing you weren't a shifter - and the rest of us believing, erroneously we now know, that you'd be torn between your lovers and your duty, we did what we thought was best. Which was to keep you apart for the time being."

Gibbs didn't say anything for a long while.

"Jethro?"

"I'm here. Kort fucked him."

"Uhh - um..." SecNav was momentarily flustered by Gibbs' language.

"Sorry," Gibbs muttered. "Listen, Kort was sleeping with Jonas for years! Did he know Jonas was _mine_? Did he sleep with Tony, too?"

"I think that's something you should ask Tony, and no, I _told_ you - none of us knew about Tony and Jonas being _yours_ , as you so succinctly put it. I will remind you that it was Trent who was against keeping the three of you apart until you became the alpha-rex. It was because of him that the Joint Council gave the green light for Tony and Jonas to be involved in Operation Blood Moon. If anything, you should be thanking him." Porter paused. "In fact, it's been a while since Trent was in DC. Invite him over and thank him personally and properly. Now, what was the other reason you called me?"

"M. Allison Hart. Do you know her?"

"No."

"Anything about her?"

"No, but I will find out. Why do you want to know?"

Gibbs told her about Arras' report on Haswari.

"Give me a day or two and I'll call you back."

"Thanks."

"Thank Trent."

o     o     o

 

Gibbs didn't bother with Trent. He could take Porter's word that Kort didn't know Jonas was his life-mate when the two were fucking. Besides, as Porter reminded him, that was in the past and more significantly, Kort had been the decisive factor in bringing Jonas and Tony into Operation Blood Moon. Cutting short their separation, in fact.

Perhaps he _should_ give the Brit a call and invite him over. Besides, the global alphas and their immediate families have been invited to attend his instatement. Many had already arrived, deciding to make it a longer holiday. There would be several thousand alphas of the various shifter species in attendance. A remote area in Michigan had been fixed as the location and Gibbs himself would be flying across two days before the 27th.

Arras, meanwhile, had tailed Allison Hart then literally bumped into her as she was leaving the building of her law office.

"She's a vampire, alright," Arras confirmed, the next morning. "Her scent is not strong, though, so she's not a purebred."

"She was turned, you mean?" Nick asked.

"Yes."

"Alpha Jethro," Jonas called out from the other side of the room, holding up a handset "It's Callen from LA."

"What's up, Callen?"

"Hi Alpha Jethro. SecNav's sources said Hart has been seen in the company of Isaak Sidorov. Not recently, but last year - before he went off the radar. Her source at the FBI said they've tracked him down and hope to have an arrest soon."

"Hope? They're not sure? Who's the source?"

"Fornell. He's heading the investigation into Sidorov. Been after him for close to five years."

"Okay, thanks. I'll let you know if anything comes up with Sidorov." He remembered he'd yet to call Fornell but decided to leave him out of it for now.

"There's one more thing."

"What?"

"Theron filled you on what's going on over this side?"

"Yeah, you got it under control?"

"For now, yeah, but one rogue coughed up Sidorov's name before before he died. We also interrogated another who told us there are at least fifty rogue weres in California and a hundred more up in Montana and Minnesota. He said the numbers were increasing."

"Keep an eye on your quadrant and update Jonas." Gibbs hung up, not liking what he just heard. The killings were still continuing around the rest of the world but it had been relatively quiet in the US lately, the only murders being the ones in Minnesota and Louisiana. Something was brewing and he could feel it. There was a reason for the seemingly pointless killings around the world with no demands, no rationale given. As if sheer anarchy in the shifter world was the sole reason. He returned to his suite in a serious, non-communicative mood. Tony and Jonas, used to that, did not initiate any conversation and concentrated on their job, reviewing the security measures and continuing discussing the investigation with Theron's team via video link.

"We need to get inside Hart's house," Gibbs said, suddenly.

"And?" Tony asked, leaving the window and walking to Gibbs.

"Plant surveillance," Jonas said, joining them.

"Yeah," Gibbs confirmed. "We need to know what she and Sidorov talk about."

"Phones?" Tony asked.

"That, and the bedroom," Gibbs replied. "Hart likes pillow talk." Tony scowled at the thought of Gibbs in bed listening to Hart jabbering away after sex.

"I'll put Arras on it," Jonas said. "He can get in Hart's townhouse without having to break in or being seen. I'll have to ask one of our techies to accompany him, though. The new equipment we have requires a fair bit of technical knowledge."

"Hey," Tony's face lit up. "Arras will teleport the techie into Hart's house with him, isn't that right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"And that will require the techie to hold on to Arras, right? The more surface contact, the faster the teleportation?"

"Unless they're having sex," Jonas said.

"What?" Gibbs' brows snapped together.

"If, say, Arras was having sex with someone and his cock is in that person and they teleport, then it's instant. One moment here, the next there. Together. But if, say, they were just holding hands, then Arras gets teleported first and about ten seconds later then the other person gets appears. If they are hugging, then...five seconds or so. Why?" he asked Tony.

"Cos you're going to tell McGee to go with Arras." Tony waggled his eyebrows. "McGee's a geek and he knows a lot about surveillance stuff but he'll try to get out of it cos he's scared of vampires. I want to tell him it's very quick and I want to explain how it can be over in just an instant." Tony rubbed his hands in glee.

 

o     o     o

 

_**Next Morning** _

"Jethro, the alphas have started arriving," Jonas said, watching a nude Gibbs emerge from the bathroom. "They are heading for Minnesota. We should be making our way there soon."

Gibbs went up to him and gave him a lingering kiss. "Good morning, Joe." He'd taken to calling Jonas by the abbreviated moniker. "We still have three days before your instatement."

"The foreign delegates will be expecting to meet with you," Tony added. "Mike Franks has been on my back to get you moving. So has Ducky."

"The facility will be empty except for a skeleton crew," Jonas said. "Alpha Lucas is expecting us anytime now. We're staying with him, remember?"

"I remember, but I was thinking of going up on the 27th itself, instead of tomorrow," Gibbs said. "Take the opportunity to relax a little before heading up north."

Tony's malamute ears pricked up. "Will that include cuddling?"

Before Gibbs could respond, there was a loud knocking on their front door. Jonas went to open it and a moment later, Mike could be heard demanding, "Where is he?" as he headed for the bedroom. Ducky was behind him looking worried.

"Hey!" Jonas pulled Mike back. "It's six a.m. What's up?"

"Jethro!" Mike yelled, shaking Jonas' grip off. "Come out here. This is serious."

Gibbs came out, zipping up his jeans, still bare-chested.

"What is?" Tony asked, following close behind, one of Gibbs' shirts in his hand.

"Coffee," Gibbs growled.

"This just came in," Mike shoved the piece of paper at Gibbs. Jonas' phone started trilling and so did Tony's.

"Coffee," Gibbs repeated.

"Dozens of emails have come in," Ducky said, as if Gibbs hadn't spoken. "I've had six calls from China, Russia and India in the last half hour."

Gibbs scanned the printout. What the hell?

o     o     o

 

The surveillance they'd put Hart under, had worked. Isaak Sidorov was seen entering her home shortly after midnight a couple of days later. From the conversation that ensued, the team had enough to confirm that Isaak Sidorov was the mastermind behind the attacks. Not just the ones in the US, but globally.

With the worldwide contacts he'd made from his blackmarket arms dealings, he'd been able to fly around the world on his business associate's private jets and other modes of transportation, slipping in and out of each country without being detected, unrecorded on the immigration systems.

In the past year, he'd used Allison Hart to teleport him but something must have happened recently because Hart was heard questioning him about his not using her lately. Whatever it was, Sidorov was placating her and telling her that there were urgent matters he needed to address and didn't want to trouble her, knowing that she could not simply disappear from work. Hart wasn't convinced and the argument continued.

Sex followed, of course, and, as Gibbs predicted, the post-coital talk was most revealing - Sidorov's plan was to create unhappiness amongst the worldwide packs. This would turn to dissent when the crime rate soared among the shifter communities, then dissent and rebellion when the local alphas found it too difficult to cope with the rising tide of anger against the shifter authorities.

According to Sidorov, the time was ripe for a change and September 27 was that time. No one would think it odd if hundreds of shifters congregated at the designated spot on September 27th to observe the super blood moon and the instatement of their new alpha-rex.

The conversation had gone on to day-dreaming about what Allison wanted once she was Sidorov's queen. Nothing about an attack. Everything else Gibbs and his team heard were vague references to everything and everyone being ready for D-Day.

Just what was Sidorov planning?

o     o     o

 

A _challenge_? Gibbs read the message again. Sidorov had sent an email to all the shifters worldwide:

_Dear fellow shifters,_

_As you are all aware - and have been extremely concerned - the murders in our communities around the world have been attracting the attention of the human authorities. We had managed to keep our presence among the humans a secret except from a few._

_However unless the senseless violence ceases, unless our alphas do something to bring safety and order, our existence will be threatened. Once the human population realizes what and who we are, they will hunt us down._

_Our cries for a savior has been heard and soon, we will choose our king. We need an alpha-rex who is not only strong and capable, he must be invincible. He must desire the responsibilities that come with being king._

_That man must be a victor, not a coward!_

_I have learnt that the man who covets the title of alpha-rex yet has done nothing to quell the unrest among the packs is one Leroy Jethro Gibbs. He was told by his friends and sycophantic supporters that he is the prophesied king._

_If so, why has there been no confirmation of this from the Seer? On the contrary, the prophet has remained silent while Alpha Jethro continues under the illusion that the throne of the shifter kingdom will be handed to him on a silver platter._

_That will not happen for I, Isaak Sidorov, wolf shifter of the ancient Sipyrs, the mysterious tribe that inhabited Siberia, challenge Alpha Jethro for the right to be the next alpha-rex. If Alpha Jethro is not the apathetic coward who has been hiding away in his abode of luxury and security while the masses are being ravaged by rogues, let him meet me and fight me for the right to be king.  
_

_Our ancient alpha-rexes were brave warriors. They won the right to rule. More so should the next alpha-rex who shall rule over us._

_He Who Survives Is King._

_Long Live the Alpha-Rex._

_Signed,_

_Isaak Kuryakin Sidorov_

"They are all expecting you to fight him, Alpha Jethro," Ducky said. "The joint council members have been calling me, too. They said they did not want to disturb you at such an early hour but requested that I update them as soon as I could."

"Well?" Mike demanded.

"Well what?" Gibbs said. "I'll meet him."

"No!" Both Jonas and Tony exclaimed at the same time.

"I knew you were going to say that," Mike said. "Frickin' moron."

"Hey." Gibbs glared at his ex-mentor.

"Not you. _Him_." Mike pointed to the printout. "Sidorov!" He rounded on Ducky. "Have you informed the Seer?"

Gibbs snorted at the mention of the Seer. "Where's my coffee?"

"Coming up," Tony replied. "Yeah, Ducky. What has the Seer got to say? Hey, call Fornell and tip him off about Sidorov. Let the FBI take care of him for us."

"I did call the Seer," Ducky said. "And his response was, let it all play out. Jethro is the prophesied alpha-rex and too bad Sidorov doesn't know that."

"That's it?" Tony said. "That's all he said?"

"But he does know," Mike said. "Sidorov, I mean. It's there in the email he sent to every shifter."

"No, it doesn't," Gibbs said. "It says he knows I covet the throne and I was told I was the prophesied king by my sycophantic friends. Then he cast doubt by pointing out the damned Seer hasn't confirmed anything."

"This is nonsense." Mike fumed.

"Not nonsense," Jonas said. "On the contrary, I think Sidorov's got it right - his plan will work no matter who the prophesied alpha-rex is. He's already had everyone primed to accept a victorious contender and to reject the loser. If Alpha Jethro declines the challenge, he _will_ be seen as a coward. His rule will always be shadowed by doubt."

"That kind of thinking on Sidorov's part precludes Alpha Jethro's losing to him. How is he guaranteeing that?" Mike asked.

"We don't know but we'll have to expect he's got something up his sleeve," Jonas replied.

"Nobody fights for leadership anymore," Mike said, unwilling to let it go. "Why can't we just vote like the humans do?"

"Yeah, and see what they get for that," Gibbs said. "I'll fight him, prophesied or not."

 

\---------------

TBC:

_**Next chapter will be the final one, then a short epilogue.** _

\---------------


	35. PART FOUR: REUNION - CHAPTER 35 & EPILOGUE

PART FOUR - CHAPTER 35

**REUNION**

 

 

_**Night of the Super Blood Moon** _

_**September 27, 2015** _

 

Special boat trips had been organized to take the visiting shifters to one of the uninhabited islands on the north of Lake Michigan. At last count, over ten thousand had registered to attend Gibbs' instatement.

Security for the site had been planned months ahead by Jax Theron's KnightShadow company. Since then, the backroom work had continued quietly while the investigation into the killings and Gibbs' security detail occupied the forefront of the task force's activities.

The day had come. Tonight, the shifters would get their king and though many were unable to fly to Michigan to witness the occasion, every shifter around the world with access to the internet would be waiting for the video upload as soon as someone could get across to the bigger island nearby, where internet service was available.

By 8pm, three quarters of the shifters were already on the island, though the avian and piscine shifters either swam or flew to High Island before shifting to their human.

There was more to the organization than first met the eye especially with the expectation that the rogue shifters would appear. There had never been a gathering this large in the recent history of the shifters and warnings had gone out that weapons would be confiscated. The only fight the shifter authorities would allow would be the one between Alpha Jethro and Isaak Sidorov. As in any contest, the spectators would not be permitted inside the fight circle. Guards had been posted along the perimeter of the sand dune where the fight would take place.

A company owned and operated by wolf shifters based in Wisconsin, had invented an LED lantern that used sea water, unlike the popular regular-water LED lanterns like LightCap 300. The company had provided enough sea water lanterns to light up the dune area for six hours.

At a quarter to nine, the entire dune was crowded with thousands of shifters and a couple of hundred vampires. The latter stood out in that they didn't socialize with the rest - that is, the shifters - but spoke quietly in small cliques. The shifters, on the other hand, were behaving as if they were at an enormous beach party.

Despite the prediction of cloud cover by the weather guys, the night sky overhead was clear and the moon had already risen in the east, making its way across the sky.

As Gibbs caressed his mug of coffee and Tony bounced on his feet in nervous anticipation, Jonas was questioning the guards' pointmen along the perimeter. Law enforcement shifters were positioned at the eastern coast in case some clueless humans from the larger, inhabited, Beaver Island got it into their heads to watch the eclipse from its smaller neighbor. Highly unlikely, since Beaver island nearby had all the comforts of a small seaside resort catering to seasonal tourists whereas the one where the shifters had congregated was totally uninhabited. Should the stray visitor appear, however, some gun-toting military-types would politely send him back to where he came from.

"Are you ready, Alpha Jethro?" Jonas asked, returning from his rounds.

" _I'm_ not," Tony said. "I got a bad feeling in my gut. Where's Sidorov? The fight's about to start and no sign of him. Everyone's partying."

"Except the vampires," Jonas said. "I'm going to talk to some of them. They could be from Sidorov's camp even though only the registered shifters are here, according to McGee."

McGee, with dozens of other volunteers, was manning the registration booths while the guards checked for hidden weapons.

At 8.45pm, the whup-whup of helo rotors sounded Isaak Sidorov's arrival. He rapelled down onto the brightly-lit sand dune to applause and cheers. Gibbs himself emerged over the dune's mound to more thunderous cheers. Once the two men were in the fight circle, they undressed, leaving themselves naked, the way contestants in ancient Greece were. Like all wolf shifters, Isaak and Gibbs were physically-fit, displaying none of the flab that tended to plague their middle-aged human counterparts. Their muscles rippled under the bright glow of the LED lights as they approached each other, and the crowd was getting impatient, chanting for the fight to begin. Gibbs' team watched the moon as it rose over the eastern horizon and slowly entered the earth's penumbra.

"I was hoping we could we delay the fight," Ducky said, his eyes still on the moon. "But the crowd is getting a little too antsy for my comfort."

"No, we wait it out as long as we can," Tony said. They all preferred to delay things until the total eclipse began. Once the maximum eclipse was reached at 9.47pm, the instatement of Gibbs would be final. If the fight was still on, it would stop. By force, if necessary.

"The Seer had better turn up on time," Mike muttered.

"He will," Ducky said. "He's a little odd, I concede, but he's turned up when Alpha Jethro summoned him. We've been waiting for this day for over two thousand -" a loud murmur from the ten thousand-strong crowd broke off Ducky's reply.

There, high up on the rocky outcrop, forty feet above the crowd, stood the Seer, holding up a ram's horn - an ancient shofar that the old world wolf shifters used to call the packs together. Or, as in this case, signalling that the fight was about to commence.

The Seer sounded the shofar and it's long, mournful blast filled the night. The moon was fully in the penumbra but there was another forty-five minutes before it entered the umbra, the darkest part of the earth's shadow, and then another hour before the total eclipse began.

If Isaak wanted to defeat Gibbs, he had less than two hours to accomplish it. Once the total eclipse began at 9.11pm. Gibbs' strength would increase exponentially until 9.47pm, the maximum total eclipse. What happened after was what Gibbs, the joint council, and his men, had been waiting for.

But at this moment, both Gibbs and Isaak stood three feet away from each other. Both men kept their eyes on one another - Isaak's, faintly mocking and Gibbs', quizzical, the former confident of a victory and the latter, wondering what kind of idiot would dismiss a prophecy that had already been fulfilled except on one count - the mystery that would confirm Jethro Gibbs as the prophesied king.

All eyes remained on the Seer perched high above them. Then he lifted his right arm and it swooped it down to a pile of dry brush next to him.

Fire burst out with a loud _whoomp!_ A loud cheer went up and Isaak charged at Gibbs, taking a flying leap. His feet narrowly missed Gibbs' head by a hair. Gibbs, feinting to his left, was ready when Isaak shifted and his black wolf leapt on Gibbs' white. The black and white figures snarled, snapped and leapt in the light of the lanterns, holding everyone spellbound.

Second by second, the moon made its course over the inky blackness above them as the two wolves battled on. Just as the moon entered the earth's umbra, loud screams sounded from the outer edge of the crowd. The sound of automatic fire ripped through the crowd. Pandemonium ensued. Jonas was running and shouting into his mic. Men and women were scattering over the dune as the attackers, firing their automatic weapons mowed the crowd down.

The uninjured men shifted and soon, fur, claws and fangs were flying. The security detail rushed to the center of the fight ring and encircled Gibbs, their own weapons ready but both Gibbs and Isaak were locked in a fierce combat of their own. Gibbs' jaws clamped on Isaak's rump but the man tore himself away before Gibbs could get his fangs in deeper. Isaak charged again and this time his jaw crunched down on Gibbs' forearm. Gibbs punched Isaak on the eye and Isaak lost his grip.

Blood was streaming down both men but the entire sand dune was now a bloody battle ground as the shifters, mainly wolves and other canines battled with the rogues.

"McGee!" Abby cried. "Where's McGee? He was manning the entrance!" She couldn't see him in the battling crowd and Nick was dragging her away. He yelled at Arras who had just broken the neck of a rogue shifter, telling him to teleport Gibbs away.

"I can't," Arras said.

"Why the fuck not?" Nick shouted.

"It's an eclipse, dummy. Vampires lose their powers during an eclipse."

"Great fucking time to tell me!" Nick swore. He rushed Abby away just as she caught sight of McGee stumbling over the top of sandy slope.

"McGee! You're safe!" Abby tore off after McGee. "I thought you were dead when I couldn't find you."

"I went to take a leak," McGee said. "I was just heading back to my booth when I heard gunshots and saw a boatload of guys with assault weapons. I fired off some shots but I only had my Glock. Where's Gibbs?"

"Still in the fight ring, I think. I can't believe they cheated! They sent in armed attackers!"

"Hey, you two!" Nick yelled. "Get into the boats. You're getting off the island. Now!"

But the first boat had already left with the older shifters and pregnant females and the second boat was full.

Nick looked around for another solution and spied Cathy, a shifter he'd dated before he realized it wasn't girls that did it for him.

"Cath! Need your help," he said, grabbing Cathy's arm as she ran past.

"I gotta go, Nick," Cathy said. "My husband's waiting."

"Please. I need you to get these two humans off the island."

"Cathy took one look at Abby and McGee and said, "Come with me. Jake and I will swim you across."

"Swim?" McGee asked. "It's four miles to Beaver Island. I can't swim that far. And not in these water temperatures."

"We have diving suits," Cathy said. "Will keep you warm enough. You don't have to swim. Just hold on to Jake and me. We're dolphin shifters. We'll get you to Beaver Island in under thirty minutes and our wetsuits are for cold water. Come on. Hurry, before my husband goes berserk. I'm pregnant, see."

"Gibbs. We can't leave Gibbs," Abby said.

"He's got the entire task force surrounding him, Abs," McGee said. "He'll want us off the island. We're out of our league here. Please, Abby."

"Okay, you're right." She looked for Nick but he was gone.

o     o     o

 

Nick ran back to the center of the battle, spotting Arras in a chokehold with a shifter. The shifter's head jerked under Arras' grip and the man went limp, falling to the ground.

Arras looked up, saw Nick and was about to call to him when he spotted something in the air, swooping down and making a beeline for Nick.

Ari Haswari.

Arras saw the dead shifter had a pistol strapped to him and took it out of its holster. He took aim and shot the vampire bat just as it was about to land on Nick's shoulder. The shot spattered Ari's little brain and guts over the side of Nick's face.

"What the -!" Nick swiped the gore off his cheek.

"That was Haswari," Arras said. "A vampire bat's bite is nasty. It would have downed you. Takes weeks for a wolf shifter to heal. Plus, it makes you impotent for three months. Didn't think you'd like that."

"Tony! No!" The shout from Jonas had Nick and Arras turning to Jonas just in time to see Allison Hart fire a semi-automatic and watch Tony go down.

Gibbs was still locked in a death grip with Isaak who was surprisingly strong and agile. Isaak broke away from Gibbs' jaws, blood dripping down his body, his fur matted with blood and bits of flesh.

Gibbs was not much better. There was a deep gash on his snout and blood was dripping into his nostrils.

Both men, now ten feet apart, shifted to their human and wiped the blood off their faces. Both men's bodies were in bloody tatters. Gibbs' back was raw with claw and teeth gouges and a chunk of flesh was missing from his thigh.

Isaak's buttock had a huge piece of flesh ripped out and his right ear was missing. He was limping but still laughing and snarling. He saw Hart turn from Tony who she'd just shot, her weapon now trained on Gibbs. Isaak's smile turned into  a grin.

"Tony!" Jonas rushed to Tony and cradled him. Blood was streaming down Tony's face. A bullet had gone through his temple. The shot to his temple had killed his life-mate. He didn't want to look at the hole on the other side of Tony's head but it was inevitable. Blood and brain had spattered where Tony fell and now smeared Jonas' fingers.

Stricken by grief and anger, he looked up in time to see Allison Hart aim the weapon at Gibbs. The fact that the other operatives were already about to fire at Hart didn't register with Jonas. She'd killed Tony and for that she would die at Jonas' hand. He would not let her get to Gibbs.

Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion rather than in split seconds. One moment, Isaak was grinning, Hart was lifting her weapon, Gibbs was about to shift back to his wolf, Jax and his KnightShadow operatives had their weapons trained Hart and about to fire, and the next, a wooden frisbee was flying through the air and landing over Hart's neck. The spring in the chakram was released and the sharp-edged bronze double-rings, hidden between the wooden circles, sprang apart, decapitating Hart.

The earth's shadow completed its full cover of the moon just then. The lunar eclipse was now total.

o     o     o

 

"Tony!" Gibbs yelled when he saw Tony's bloody body on the ground and Jonas' face. He rushed to his life-mate, a cry of anguish reverberating through the air.

Gibbs grabbed Tony's lifeless body and howled. "No, Tony! You can't die!"

But Tony was dead.

Gibbs looked up and saw Isaak smirking at him.

"I may not have defeated you, Jethro, but the battle is far from over. I will -"

Gibbs did not allow Isaak to finish what he was saying. Shifting back to his wolf, Gibbs took a long, flying leap. The battle suddenly ceased and a hush fell on everyone.

Gibbs' white wolf was a gigantic creature whose white fur was glistening like pearly, frosted strands of light. He glowed as if light came from within him, the mark of the howling wolf on his snout was giving off fiery auras which swirled around the fight ring.

The crowd was stunned into silence at the spectacle of their alpha-rex in metamorphosis, his leap through the air like a slow-motion movie clip. Above Alpha-Rex Jethro, the super blood moon glowed against the dark heavens like a giant bloody orb. Alpha-Rex Jethro's fangs elongated as he descended on Isaak.

Isaak tried to escape the descent of those fangs but tripped over Allison Hart's head and fell facedown.

Alpha-Rex Jethro's immense jaws clamped down on Isaak's neck, ripping out his throat. Looking up towards his dead life-mate, Gibbs gave another anguished howl and bounded over to the weeping Jonas who was cradling Tony in his arms. Gibbs shifted to his human and took the dead Tony in his arms.

Shifters could heal from injuries, even severe ones, but they were not invincible. They couldn't grow new limbs if they were blown up in an explosion and if they succumbed to the injury, they died like any ordinary creature.

Knowing this, the new alpha-rex wept over the lifeless body of his beloved. The crowd watched in stunned silence at such an ignominious start to their king's reign.

"The time has come." The Seer's deep voice boomed through the air. Everyone turned to the white-clad figure on the top of the high rock. The Seer had a staff in his right hand this time and he held it up, pointing to the blood red moon. "Behold! Your Alpha-Rex!"

There was a flash of lightning then more rivers of light streaked across the sky, followed by loud clashes of thunder.

As Gibbs rose to his knees, swirls of light streaked from the blood moon to encircle him. The crowd of shifters and vampires watched transfixed as Gibbs shifted into his giant wolf once again. As the fiery arms continued to encircle the white creature, the spellbound crowd watched their wolf king shift into his human again. Only this time, his human looked decades younger despite the silver hair. His eyes glowed like blue fire and his body was that of a young man - gleaming with smooth, hard muscles. He was also taller and bigger.

And he had vampire fangs...to the delight of the vampires who gave a loud cheer, complete with wolf whistles - something the normally-restrained creatures were not in a habit of doing.

"What..." Even Ducky was at a loss for words.

"Jethro is a _vampire_?" Sarah Porter whispered to Jenny Shepard.

"But still a wolf," Shepard said.

"What the fucking hell?" Mike muttered.

"ALPHA-REX JETHRO." The Seer's voice boomed out loudly. "YOU ARE NO LONGER JUST A WOLF. YOU ARE ALSO A VAMPIRE. BUT NOT A HYBRID. YOU ARE A HYPOSTAWERE."

"What the hell is that?" Mike asked.

"I don't know," Ducky replied. "Never heard of it, but I think I can guess. Jethro could be a -"

The Seer's voice drowned out Ducky's. "YOUR WOLF, VAMPIRE, AND HUMAN INDWELLING ONE BODY. ALPHA-REX JETHRO IS THE SACRED TRINITY PROPHESIED BY THE ANCIENT SEERS. LET YOUR REIGN BEGIN!

Gibbs stared up at the Seer, his anguish still stark on his grief-stricken face. He opened his mouth in a silent, tortured cry.

"ALPHA-REX JETHRO," The Seer's voice continued to book out. "YOU HAVE THE POWER TO BRING YOUR LIFE-MATE BACK FROM THE DEAD. YOU AND YOU ALONE HAVE THIS POWER. DO IT."

Gibbs looked down at Tony then fell upon him. His vampire fangs emerged. Jonas and the others crowded around Gibbs and Tony, saw the glistening drops secreted by the sharp fangs like a poisonous snake's.

"Venom?" Jonas whispered, totally bewildered.

"Super antidote?" Arras whispered back. He was intrigued by what was happening. Vampires could turn a person and make him one of the undead, to prevent him from dying but a vampire could not bring someone back from the dead. What was this hypostawere that Gibbs had become? Like Ducky, he'd never heard of the term though it could be related to the 'hypostatic union', a theological term. Whatever it was, it appeared to be what Gibbs needed to save his life-mate.

The awestruck crowd watched as Gibbs lowered his head and pressed his lips against the cold flesh of Tony's neck. His fangs slid out and pierced the skin over Tony's carotid and he released the life-giving elixir into his life-mate. The blood moon's auras continued to swirl around Gibbs, Tony and Jonas as the elixir did its magic.

As the moon began its first moments out of the earth's shadow, Tony's eyes fluttered open. "Jeth." Came the raspy whisper.

A smile broke on Gibbs' face as the wounds on Tony head and body receded and closed up. The crowd broke into a deafening cheer when Gibbs stood and Tony followed, his hand in Gibbs'.

The applause and shouts of joy expressed the incredulity and exhilaration that filled the crowd. The team was having a hard time controlling them as everyone wanted to touch their king.

"Alpha..." Jonas' soft plaintive cry tore at Gibbs' heart.

He bent to kiss Jonas softly. "I haven't forgotten you, love. Come, let's go up there." He gestured to the rocky outcrop expecting to see the Seer.

Only there was no one there. The Seer had gone. Another superwave was, no doubt, waiting, Gibbs thought.

The moon was a bright, luminous disk and the party was resuming. Alpha-Rex Jethro led his two life-mates up to the rock to get away from the crowd. There were no fatalities except for a handful of rogue shifters and Isaak Sidorov. No rogue vampires had come, except for Ari Haswari and Allison Hart. Both had been killed and would not return to life since their destruction had been during an eclipse. The clean-up crew, expecting to pick up discarded bottles and litter, found themselves carrying off dead rogue shifters and Hart's remains instead. Someone trod on a piece of wolf turd and scrubbed his shoe on the rock to clean it, realizing only then that it was a dead bat.

Up on the rock, looking down at the partygoers, Gibbs drew Jonas into his arms, together with Tony.

"Hurry, Alpha," Jonas pleaded. "I can't wait to join you and Tony."

And so Jonas was turned - Gibbs on one side of his neck and Tony on the other. As the two hypostaweres sank their fangs into Jonas and shared their elixir with him, there was a loud whoosh and a blinding light that drew the attention of the crowd below.

But the rock was bare. The three men had vanished.

 

 

 

 

PART FOUR - CHAPTER 36

**EPILOGUE**

 

 

_**Denali National Park, Alaska** _

Before D-Day, I had already been planning for a quiet retreat for my life-mates and me. Somewhere I could have the privacy so essential to my sanity yet be contactable. We have twenty years to catch up on and before the obligations of being alpha-rex descended on me full force, I wanted two weeks with Tony and Jonas. Two weeks where I'd be left alone with nothing to do except spend leisure time with my life-mates. Time to process the changes for Tony and Jonas were now hypostaweres like me. We were immortal, like vampires, and possess all the powers that vampires have. We also have the characteristics of wolf shifters - a love for being in the thick of action rather than being bystanders or armchair managers, and we have the full range of the human emotions that would enable us to understand the world we had adopted as our home and an empathy for those creatures who were so much weaker than us, physically, but possessed a beauty of their own, nontheless.

Before I could make a getaway, however, I saw the alphas were making their way up the dune to the small promontory where I stood with my life-mates. I knew once they got to me, I'd be stuck on this island till sunrise.

We had to leave before they reached me.

Jax provided the solution. He suggested I leave straightaway to one of the wildlife sanctuaries KnightShadow runs. So that was what I did. I teleported Tony and Jonas with me to the KnightShadow wolf sanctuary in Alaska.

 

Our honeymoon, I suppose that's what it is, ends in a couple of days, but already I have decided these retreats will become a regular thing in my life. For the past week and a half, the three of us have been working with the sanctuary's staff - all of them wolf shifters - and it has been a time of healing. Especially for Jonas. My life-mate has started to share with Tony and me more of his exploits and I see the torment he has hidden in him. The kills he has made over the last 2 decades have not been easy on him and Tony and I have realized Jonas still finds it hard to totally relax. He is still looking over his shoulder, still watching, ready to take out the assailant even when there is none in sight.

The only time we see him surrender himself is when he is in my arms and I am deep inside him. I tell him constantly that he is now a hypostawere. But it will take time for him to process that and appropriate it.

As for Tony, he is as Tony has always been - cheerful, exuberant, playful and needing plenty of cuddling. Tony brings the sunshine with him and it is easy to see how indispensable he is to Jonas. To me.

It's so tranquil here, just gazing at the snowy mountains in the distance, watching some bear cubs playing, mama bear nearby and laughing at Tony in a fit of sneezing - he was sticking his snout in the grass and in the last of the wildflowers as autumn descends fully on us - I can't help wondering about the changes that will need to be made when I return to DC.

 o     o     o

 

Our quiet honeymoon has come to a close and we are getting ready to head to Anchorage for our flight back to DC. McGee and Abby are already back at work and Vance is still asking when I'll be back.

I don't know what Tony and Jonas plan to do for the long term. Tony does not want to return to DSS but Jonas is still with KnightShadow. We have talked about moving to another house and vacating the one at Chain Bridge Road. KnightShadow is taking over the facility and working with the White House on expanding the Presidential Emergency Operations Center (PEOC) which includes a complex of subterranean super-tunnels.

We arrived at Dulles after our nine-hour flight from Anchorage and Jax met us at the arrival lounge , telling us we had a meeting to attend in two hour's time.

"Who with?" I asked, not particularly pleased to hear that.

"The President," Jax replied.

"Of?"

"The United States."

"You're kidding," Tony replied. "Why does he want to see Jethro?"

"Not just Alpha Jethro," Jax said. "You and Jonas, too. My boss and I will be present as well."

"What's the meeting about?" I asked.

"Your new job," Jax replied.

"Excuse me?"

"You will be heading a new anti-terrorism unit which reports directly to the President."

"Why?" I asked. "I'm already involved with MTAC and there are other counter-terrorism units out there."

"Not one like this one," Jax smiled. "This unit will be made up totally of shifters and will target the terrorists we suspect are shifters. Even as we speak, intel has come in that a terror cell is planning to carry out attacks in DC. That's going to be our first mission." He unlocked the car and we piled in. "The President is aware of our existence, but you'll find out the details at the meeting."

"Is he -" I started to ask.

"He's neither a vampire nor a shifter. Fully human, but a believer and an ally. I forgot to mention - your mother's husband, Markus, is one of the new unit's advisors. He handles the European Affairs. Thought you might want to know.

I stared at him. "My mother's husband?"

"Yup." Jax grinned. "He's great pals with Trent Kort, by the way. They've worked several missions together."

Looked like I was going to send Kort to Mongolia, too. Unfazed by my murderous expression, Jax said. "Honeymoon's over, Jethro. Back to work." He winked.

"I'm heading the unit, you said?" I asked Jax.

"Yup."

"I pick the men?"

"And the women," Jax replied. "You pick whoever you want in your unit. It's your baby. It's referred to as OGA2." OGA stood for Other Government Agency  and referred to the CIA. " _Totally_ classified. It doesn't exist, outside the need-to-know. It'll be funded by KnightShadow and not the government so no one to answer to at Capitol Hill."

"Nice, I like that," Jonas said. "You're part of the unit?"

"At the moment, yes," Jax replied. "Until Alpha Jethro is officially read in by President McCall. Then Jethro will pick his final line-up."

Jonas and Tony turned to look at me as we entered the underground parking lot of the facility.

"What do you think, Jethro?" Jonas asked.

"Sounds fun." I grinned and gave my life-mates a wink.

 

 

**+++++++++++++++++**

**THE END**

****+++++++++++++++++** **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed this story. I appreciate all the encouraging comments that enabled me to write and complete this. As is evident by the ending, there should be a sequel, and more, as it feels unfinished. If I were a reader and enjoyed this, I would want to read about the new counter-terrorism unit that the US President wants Gibbs to head. I would want to read about the new mission Jonas and Tony undertake, only this time they have Gibbs at their six.
> 
> But I need a break so I'm not going to say I plan to write a sequel...just sayin' I realize I'm not satisfied that the story is finished.


End file.
